Banking Below 30 series calls on Congress to testify
Lawmakers heard from black business owners in Dallas who said they were all denied loans
the United States House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on Tuesday explore how banks are ignoring minority communities in South Dallas and beyond.
The virtual event was a response to the WFAA’s “Banking Below 30” series, which has shown in recent months how banks are lending relatively little money to minority customers south of Interstate 30 in Dallas.
Dallas Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson hosted the virtual session, which was also attended by Financial Services Committee Chair, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Rep. Al Green (D-Houston), Chair of the Financial Services Supervisory and Investigations Subcommittee.
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“I would like to pay tribute to David Schechter of the WFAA, whose investigation of banks under 30 brought public attention to this issue,” Johnson told the panel. “He didn’t let me forget that we have to do something about it. This is one of the main reasons we are here today.
The hearing focused in part on the misapplication of the federal Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), a law that encourages banks to lend money to the entire community they serve, especially the minority communities that banks have long ignored.
Tim Williams of Williams Chicken in Dallas testified about how Chase Bank denied his multi-million dollar company a $ 200,000 line of credit last fall.
“We think it was a travesty,” Williams told the panel. “Williams Chicken has been a Chase customer for over two decades. We deposit millions of dollars a year in the bank.
“They don’t level the playing field for us,” added Williams, a finance and real estate graduate from Texas Tech University. “They have no intention, as far as I’m concerned, of making African American loans beyond 30.”
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Williams told lawmakers how he was forced to go to another financial institution.
“They approved my line of credit in less than 30 days,” Williams said.
President Waters praised Williams Chicken for its persistence despite what she called discriminatory behavior.
“This doesn’t happen to white businessmen, especially those who have been clients of the bank for years,” she said. “I know we can’t manage the banks. But I also know that we have to find a way to deal with racism, discrimination and exclusion.
Late Tuesday, WFAA contacted Chase, who issued a statement.
“We are committed to helping grow black and Latinx-owned small businesses in Dallas and beyond,” Chase Bank’s Greg Hassell said in a statement. “We are taking action to increase lending and technical assistance to businesses in Black and Latin communities by providing an additional 15,000 loans to small businesses in predominantly Black and Latin communities, up to $ 2 billion (and) spending An additional $ 750 million with black and Latin communities. Latinx providers.
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Lawmakers also heard from Traswell Livingston III, presented in our report which detailed how South Dallas bank branches accept deposits, but make almost no loans to minorities. He also spoke about the difficulties he and his neighbors have encountered in obtaining loans from traditional banks to buy and maintain their homes.
“My neighbors want their homes paid off,” said Livingston, who owns a home in historic South Boulevard near Fair Park. “They want to leave their homes to their children. They want to create wealth. My neighbors have equity in their home.
Lawmakers also discussed topics such as gentrification, tax breaks, housing and fairness with Michael Morris, director of transportation for the North Central Texas Council of Governments; developer Jack Matthews, president of Matthews Southwest; Matt Houston, educator and past president of the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce; Dallas area dentist Dr. Natalie Stimpson; and Felicia Pierson of the Real Estate Council (TREC) in Dallas.
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