Benefits Of Approving $35 Billion Capital One-Discover Merger Are Just 2% Of What Bank Claims, Community Advocates Write To Regulators
By NCRC
Approval of Capital One’s proposed acquisition of Discover would generate just $5 billion for neglected communities, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition wrote in a comment letter ahead of Wednesday’s deadline, noting that is approximately 2% of the amount the banks have claimed is waiting to be unleashed if regulators bless the marriage.[Read more]
Regulators Must Block Capital One-Discover Merger, 138 Community Organizations Write In Comment Letter
By NCRC
“[T]his merger would reduce options for financially vulnerable customers and reduce the already limited competition on pricing for non-prime credit cards,” the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and 137 co-signers wrote in the letter. “Capital One is also an industry leader in filing debt collection civil suits [which] often create financial emergencies where customers are forced to let other bills go unpaid, further trapping them in a vicious cycle of debt.” [Read more]
Views
ANALYSIS: Capital One-Discover “Community Benefits Plan” Contains Less Than $5 Billion In New Value
By Kevin Hill
Negotiating community benefits agreements (CBAs) with merging banks is a mainstay of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition’s work over the past decade. The law requires regulators to reject any bank merger that does not benefit the public – which is why NCRC has long insisted that no merger should be approved without a robust, enforceable CBA. Despite the bank’s cosmetic branding efforts and mathematical subterfuge, the Capital One CBP falls miles short of what NCRC and our approximately 700 member organizations nationwide regard as a robust and enforceable CBA commitment to disadvantaged and historically marginalized communities. [Read more]
Testimonies
NCRC’s Jesse Van Tol Provided Remarks At Capital One – Discover Hearing
By Jesse Van Tol
Capital One is built on luring people into debt that they’ll struggle to pay off. Capital One will often automatically increase credit lines as their customers approach their limits, generating even more interest revenue for Capital One as their customers get deeper into debt.[Read more]
NCRC’s Kevin Hill Provided Remarks At Capital One – Discover Merger Hearing
By Kevin Hill
The OCC and the Federal Reserve must deny Capital One’s application to acquire Discover Bank. This merger would further consolidate the credit card industry, reduce options for customers with lower credit scores, and give Capital One the ability and incentive to raise debit interchange fees. [Read more]
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Events
Home-Purchase Deep Dive Training For Housing Counselors
July 30, 2-3:30pm EDT
Join NCRC’s National Training Academy (NTA) for the: Home purchase Deep Dive Training for Housing. a comprehensive 90-minute online course designed specifically for housing counselors. This course equips counselors with a thorough understanding of the home purchase process, enabling them to better assist their clients in navigating the complexities of buying a home. [Register here]
NCRC CDF Series II: Session 2: Cash Flow Management: Ensuring Stability And Growth
July 31, 10 am ET
Join NCRC CDF to learn advanced techniques to manage and optimize your business’s cash flow post-funding. We’ll explore forecasting, effective receivables management and tactics to navigate potential challenges. [Register here]
In The News
Capital One Offers $265 Billion Benefit Plan To Appease Regulators For Its Planned Purchase Of Discover
By Ken Sweet, Associated Press
“The reason Capital One isn’t making any mortgage commitments here has some dark irony: They quit mortgage seven years ago, breaking promises they made the last time they bluffed regulators to get a merger through,” said Jesse Van Tol, CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a group that often works with banks to develop these community lending programs. NCRC did not work with Capital One on this plan, but has worked with other banks on mergers of similar size and scope. [Read more]
Capital One-Discover Deal Critics, Supporters Sound Off
By Caitlin Mullen, Payments Dive
Critics of the proposed merger, however, cast doubt on the plan and the company’s ability to follow through on it. Jesse Van Tol, CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, called it “a corporate phony baloney plan,” of which only $4.5 billion is “new money. “This merger is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea,” Van Tol said during the meeting. [Read more]
On Our Radar
Affordable Housing Complexes Near Rosslyn And In Long Branch Creek Designated As ‘Revitalization Areas’
By Daniel Egitto, ARLNow
The county has designated a pair of affordable housing complexes as “revitalization areas” in an effort to help them secure more funding. It is meant to help with a funding application at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta’s Affordable Housing Program. [Read more]
For ‘Unbanked’ Californians, Cash Is Still King In An Increasingly Cashless Society
By Kate McQuarrie, The Observer
As a mother of six who works in a Los Angeles Jack-in-the-Box, Anneisha Williams can’t afford to pay steep bank fees. For her, every dollar matters, and overdraft fees have left her frustrated and fed up with banks — to the point where she no longer even uses them. [Read more]
Resources
Work And Meet At The Just Economy Club It's aDC hubfor nonprofits and the social sector, around the corner from the White House. Move your team into a private office or host your meetings and events or hang out in the lounge. [Read more]
Learning & Training Hub Register for NCRC's catalog of professional development courses for community development leaders. [Learn more]
Research And Reports We have an extensive library of research and reports that dates back many years! [View all]
Sign And Share The Just Economy Pledge America should not only promise but deliver to all Americans opportunities to build wealth and live well. Sign and share the pledge to help us expand the movement for a Just Economy. [Sign and Share]
Fair Lending Tool Use our interactive tool to produce a report on mortgages, small business lending and bank branch networks for any city, county or metro area in the nation. [Access the tool here]
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