'Banks Redlining' is still a monstrous phenomenom in US markets

By Iroabuchi Onwuka

Redlining is a term we can avoid if we choose to. It concerns the act of putting a demarcation on the neighborhood of interest where Banks and other financially regulated and chartered institutions are only required to lend based on that neighborhood. By this acts, neighbourhoods may rise to American challenge due to Banks present, or may become cripple due to the Banking acting out their division based on what obtainable in the society. This practice of crippling neighborhoods through lack of appropriate funding continue today throughout America and goes a long way to explain the natural mind construction of several American society, where Banks can doom or boom any part of the country or any business at any time. This idea of profiling - artificially racial among other sorts - is so serious in New York that Bank Charters are willing to employ Asians and Asian Americans of certain stock that never lend to you as African American. Except for occassional scattered few who may go that route of American lending practice, but this is a very rare treat and many of them are leading at the ropes end end of their Job. If no one is willing to take the blame for the use and abuse of lending in New york, then attention should be made to those who represent the Federal Banking Acts in New York and other Federal reserves on the ground such as former Federal Reserve secretary of Bank of America, Timothy Geithner who is now secretary of Treasury and former associate of Federal Housing Authority Andrew Cuomo who is the so-called New York State attorney General. It is difficult to clarify how such acts could actualy take place in a state where much of the citizens are seriously struggling to earn a living and how it could go unnoticed for many decades. But using parameters in terms of Hedge funding and funding activities of the market, we can exploit better holes in the whole question, using indexes such as Credit Suisse First Boston, Hedge Fund Research-HFR, the Hennessee Group, Standard and Poor's s&p, and probably the Hedge index from Center for 'International securities and Derivitives markets' and other managed account Report.

Today's society of learners, especially among the African American who feel seriously defranchised from everything, including Public Television and Television Rights, are not even concerned with the problem of the 'Redlining' and other loan malpractices in US and in New York. For several reasons, much more should be done to make public the facts that the monstrous practice of the last century leading to civil rights era is still a very present and threatning danger to American Urban life. African Americans society and market is no more different from other world emerging economy which grativitate Billions of dollars every day, and if enough attention is given to the African American market, there is a tendency to believe that America would likely be better off than much of its current performance. That this view is seriously mistaken as side a effect of capitalism might have deceived the world into thinking that investigative inquiry into banking activities by third parties should not be taken serious. But the quest however continues, irrespective of the difficulty with African American audience in doign their bit in promoting the right manners in Banking.

Of the few books that I have managed to read in the past weeks, which include the 'American Dream' by Jason DeParle, the 'Universal Banking' edited by Anthony Sanders and Ingo Walter - published by New York University Salomon Center, 'Black Business and Economic power' edited by Alusive Jalon, and the 'Feds' by Martin Mayer, it is only the 'Feds' by Martin Mayer that attempted to speak eloquently of this problems with Redlining, both in terms of the previous years and in current American terms. In Deparsle 'American Dream' we learn of the civil struggle gainst Welfare program, where three lives of women and the children became the central fix in the whole debate and the author made out the case, but nothing concerning the root of the problem was ever discursed at all, that is problably not possible to remove the Welfare without the more erroneous problem of Banking cheating. In the 'Universal Banking' the book reflected the history of the banking in United States through the eyes of senior lecturers and in terms of 'efficiency' and 'growth' . The book highlighted several question of banks 'should banks be in the securities business and insurance, and where and not universal banks should be regulated given its perform relationship to 'specialist firms' and Hedge Funds in Globl markets. The book 'Universal Banking' also highlighted the abuses of Banking industries in taxes, especially the CHASE national bank and Chase Securities and Income involving Albert Wiggin to the Glass-Seagal Act in 1933. Yet no mention at any time was made in the Book about the need and necessity to trace some of the troubles, abuses, and prejudices of 'Redlining' in Banking industry to inner cities of American society. The last of the books is called 'Black Business and Economic Power' concerns business in African American society did not at any time treat the problem, saving for one mention of the history of Banking in Africa in the article 'Money, Credit, and Banking in Colonial and Post Colonial West Africa' by Adanmu G. Adebayo, where highlights of ABC-African Banking Corporation, West African Currency Board, SAP, ECOWAS and so on was made, and nothing that serious was ever said about African American businesses in the last 20th Century.

I managed to read Martin Mayer's book titled the 'Feds' twice, published in 2001 by the Free Press of Simon and Shuster Inc New york, the author made serious arguments about the 'monstrous' acts of denial perpetrated by Banks which if Americans should per chance the record, it could lead to a matter of distrust of Banks. But this it just the 'if'. The Book called the 'Feds' deserves a careful review but it details out the whole measure of what the House of Reps have been doing for some time especially the position of CRA - Congress for the Community Re-investment Act (CRA), where at least in "1991 Congress included the FDIC improvement Act a requirement that when 'CRA' find violations of equal credit opportunities Act, they must refer to the Department of Justice. In the 'FEDS', the author who is not African American exposed what he called ''monstrous'' practice of this redlining which he argued was much more Civil Justice was instrumental in be-deviling African American business and businesses with some of them getting the same message of the so-called inadequacy of credit. Then those who can get a mere drop in the Loans and Venture funding, get serious punitive requirement. But who are we kidding, it is seriously encouraging to make such inquiries into Banking since it mirrors the challenges of the Feds in Today's market, and not only that, it allows us to have a first hand look at what is happening to our financial institutions and its central question of survival. My inspiration to extend any useful review of the whole thing come from this book and the author Martin Mayer should be congratulated for necessarily highlighting the problems and any relevant architect of monetary policy, both of the Executive arm and the Legislative should do the same. Martin Mayer is credited with up to 30 books on Banking and in the 'The Feds' he challenged the State and Feds to do more in terms of investigating the normalised bad manners of the Banks towards lending. In many ways there is a serious connection of the likes of I, who get slammed everyelse and the young and older African Americans who have lost hope in the Banking industry. The question who know what is really happening to Banks? and who can widen that challenege by asking Barack Obama and his compeers to look at the serious problems of denial of loans and services to minority African Americans.


In short view, many many blacks and in fact Africans looking for loans to do business will not get it in New York, except for Mortgate loans in slums where half of the buildings are likely to loose their value with time, and then the 're-possession' due to payment strangled by loss of Job. Yet, the attention of many people is not so much what the banks do in mortage industry, nor the issue of Collaterized Mortage Obligation but what is happening to small American businesses that are owned and managed by certain range of minorities. The language of open source committee does not infect with action on what happens in a trade situated condition when the world of that finance is like the very monetary 'machine that can go on itself', nor do we expect Composites that run other finance materials to explain it all since it goes beyond the reach of many average time investors. Much more incumbent is what happens in derivative market where international markets join heads with American company and groups, in a place where the gap is further widened by different levels of repos. Thus in doing this, the competition that take place during ins and outs of what now happens in our daily business where people who receive enough company incentive will literally deny such incentive to certain people to permit indulgence, will not allow a careful review of this serious problem of lending malpractice. The attempt by the Federal Open Market Committe to investigate certain claims may do more harm than good while the authors who write about African American business and the role of Banks in America might choose to avoid this part of their service to enable a survival rope to continue in their career.


The malpractice of feeding only a particular group of Americans loans and offering credit expansion should however be investigated by Federal Bank Supervision and Federal Bank Agency (FBA) and they should look into what actually cripple African American business, and why they are not seriously represented at any level of business practice available any where in the world. The same should also be said of the 'Truth-in-Lending Act' enacted in 1969 which left the FEDS with some powers to essentially legislate through the three banking regulators among the Home loan Bank Board, the Bureau Credit Unions, the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, the Civil aeronautics Board, the Agriculture Department, where power structures have the power to probe the activities of Banks and Financial institutions under their canopy. It will be very difficult to make such thing happen given the extra ordinary impact of mid-income Americans in today's world. But Martin Mayers position is only worthy of re-investigation but help to widen the gap in knowing what happens in a society where Banks profile others according to their wish.


There are at least 5000 banks and financial institutions in New York, and barely a handful of these banks are majority owned by Blacks. I mean, we can count very less than nameless ten in number including Insurance companies and old foundations owned by African Americans. In many ways the problem will continue long after now, even as we hope against the facts that some studies should be done in this world of inquiry. The African American business men and women are seriously surpressed except for proven talents, and so is their market. The major fulcrum in that whole engine is the banking sector of American finances, a fact that is so understated except for cases when Banks who 'wanna' look good will put a few black eagles in their teller services and in their front line. In many areas of New York, to be sure Queens, you don't have to show up if you are not like 'them'. Yet nothing is done by the US congressional committe to micro-manage the problem, to effectually conduct investigative study through FHA (Federal housing Authority) about such practices especially now that it has taken a very sophiscated form. That role of Bank in determining the first and last of what happens in our society may also lead away the stranger facts of determining the shocking lack of African Americans is senior management positions, not that the talent is not there but the Funds available and securities curve and other National and International derivitive markets are only open to specialised units and fund managers with safety nets.



And speaking of safety nets, US trade Almanac allow us to view what happens to the so-called U.S Total Retirement Market where even rackets from Investment Company Institute, Federal Reserve Board, National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administration, American Council of Life Insurers, Internal Revenue Service provide a degree of funding for the general American, but such open tray of Funding never make it to the proper hands of African American Business who desperately need it. It has infact gotten much more worse in the last decade following the rise of the Euro pretending as counterweight to common benchmarks and common markets adn rise of immigrant populations of Asia. Obama's 700 Billion dollars spending and the spending done in hundreds of billion by Bush to the Americans may have been expected to filter through to the working ranks of American society, but structure and in mocking jest, it will not reach the small business who need it. This is likely the case and may well be, given the highly selective attitude of American banks towards lending, a selection that is entirely visible and hide away the profiling status of these inner cities Americans. Much of the problems of the civil rights era did not even highlight the role of Banks in creating financial inequality between Whites and Blacks in every part of United States and for lack oversight committe of the part of these African Americans, there is virually no mention of this athrocity of profiled lending by Banks. Yet the bad lending acts of Banks in New York, the Bad lending acts of finanicial institutions associated with the world do not get a mention in several books of the world. Many people who have complained that this non-lending behavior of Banks is still evident are nolonger with the banking industries, they get strategically isolated, and those who still complain make a case for themselves and may and may not not point out the root of the problem, which is the Bank.


The advent of Obama's nomination for the Nobel Peace prize as conferred on him by a collage of peoples representing the institution in Norway, had given new tension on the merits of his accomplishment. But the price may not have been for peace that is to come but for his effort in encouraging diplomacy in line with the likes of Bishop Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, and late Martin Lurther. These fore mention group represents the era of civil struggle and how they sought to put away the devisive issues of their day through diplomacy. This nomination of Obama forces a new era of that civil struggle to begin, that the likes of Obama as with other men and women of international repute, are now recognised for their effort is forcing changes in better life programs and in advancement of women's movement. From that angle of fighting poverty and poverty prevention, there is required necessity to remind ourselves of those who have made significant efforts in changing the attitudes of Banks towards other Americans and other citizens. That effort must now be made of what is trully wrong with Banks and other financial institutions having to only extend loans to people who look like them and to a large extent enjoin the same religion. Not too many people will overlook the monstrousity of Indian financial industry in India, where people are turned down on loans for being a certain kind of Caste. Not only in India but in Korea, in South Africa, in Russia, and in Japan where people who do not belong to the 'family' or not among the numbered are to be ignored and should not even try to ask for loans. But they can all pretend to be good people in world markets. In India, there is the monstrousity of voting rights where half of the population are not required to vote, they are not illegible to vote and then there is women's right issue which all carry into the banking and housing industry where the shame is fully unleashed. In many ways, the idea of Redlining which seem to be original to America in the years past, is a mere drop in the bucket concerning what goes on and around the world in terms of profiling and in terms of prejudice, very still evident and US, very much alive in New York City