Public Meeting Regarding First Chicago and Banc One
Thursday, August 13, 1998
Transcript of Panel Fifteen
5 MR. RUF: My name is Fritz Ruf. I'm the
6 Executive Director of Wisconsin Housing And
7 Economic Development Authority and here to testify
8 in support of the merger of Banc One and First
9 Chicago NBD.
10 Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development
11 Authority is a State Housing Finance Authority
12 created in 1973.
13 Our mission is to serve Wisconsin
14 residents and communities by working with others to
15 provide creative financing and technical resources
16 to stimulate and preserve affordable housing, small
17 business and agriculture.
18 One of our oldest and most reliable
19 partners has been Banc One and its predecessor,
20 Marine National Exchange Bank. Together, we have
21 provided millions of dollars of affordable
22 financial resources to Wisconsin home buyers,
23 farmers and small business owners.
24 Consider the following track record
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1 established by WHEDA and Banc One. And incidently,
2 these numbers are not included in the HMDA data
3 that has been referred to previously because we are
4 still in the process of working with the Federal
5 Reserve Bank of Chicago to determine a method to
6 permit this information to be accumulated as the --
7 in the HMDA data to give a more accurate reflection
8 of low to moderate income lending in Wisconsin.
9 1,539 home purchase loans totaling
10 $72,765,867; 41 home improvement loans totaling
11 $350,000; 2 beginning farmer loans totaling
12 $288,000; 133 agricultural production loan
13 guarantees totaling $1,758,000; 10 small business
14 loan guarantees totaling $1,055,000; and 23 small
15 business loan subsidies totaling $683,000.
16 Moreover, Banc One is the first
17 corporation to invest in Wisconsin whole
18 income housing credit development. Today, Banc One
19 has debt or equity investments in 35 Wisconsin
20 communities.
21 While we are pleased with this record,
22 we continue to seek opportunities to do more.
23 Recently, Wisconsin Housing and Economic
24 Development Authority talked to numerous investment
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1 bankers, underwriters, insurance companies and
2 banks in an effort to find some parties interested
3 in providing financial assistance for the
4 development of low-income, multi-family housing in
5 rural areas in Wisconsin where the need is very
6 acute and the ability to meet that need has been
7 very limited by the size of the loans and the
8 inability to acquire adequate capital to be -- who
9 would be attracted to this market.
10 Banc One was the first and only
11 institution to respond to this search of ours. And
12 we have developed with them a corporation known as
13 the Wisconsin Affordable Housing Alliance, LLC.
14 The purpose of the alliance is to provide
15 a permanent loan product for financing of small,
16 nonmetropolitan, multifamily developments that
17 use low-income housing tax credits, to leverage
18 private capital for multifamily development, to
19 fill a market need with a product not otherwise
20 available in Wisconsin, and to create quality
21 rental housing for low to moderate income
22 Wisconsinites in small income markets.
23 Until the alliance, Wisconsin tax credit
24 developers had difficulty accessing long-term
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1 credit. Many relied on short-term organizations
2 with uncertain and unknown future terms. This
3 mismatch of resources to purpose was limited to
4 production of smaller-scale developments that are
5 badly needed in many Wisconsin communities.
6 Through the alliance, developers can now
7 plan their projects with more confidence and also
8 readily assess equity from investors who favor such
9 long-term financing.
10 This program has allowed us to put forth
11 $1,975,000 in three developments containing 92
12 units. Presently, the alliance is committed -- has
13 committed to additional loans of up to $5,124,000,
14 this from a corporation in which we have
15 contributed $1 million of equity, Banc One CDC
16 contributed a million dollars in equity and a line
17 of credit of up to $10 million.
18 We feel very strongly that Banc One has
19 been and will continue to be a very aggressive
20 provider of lending product to low to moderate
21 income families in Wisconsin. And we'd urge the
22 Federal Reserve Bank to favorably consider the
23 merger that is before them today. Thank you.
24 MS. SMITH: Thank you very much. We'll go to
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1 Mr. Barbash.
2 MR. BARBASH: Good afternoon. I appreciate
3 your allowing me to move up. It allows me to get
4 back to Columbus and not miss the Savage Garden
5 concert, which my 15-year old daughter has insisted
6 I be back for.
7 MR. ALVAREZ: Lucky for you.
8 MR. BARBASH: Yeah, lucky me.
9 My name is Mark Barbash. I'm Executive
10 Director of Columbus Countywide Development
11 Corporation. We are what's called a certified
12 development company.
13 We've been in existence since 1981. And
14 our mission in life is to create jobs. We do this
15 by filling the capital access gap for small
16 businesses by providing financing which takes
17 substantially greater risk than conventional bank
18 financing and which may involve substantial
19 technical assistance to entrepreneurs.
20 The purpose of my appearance here today is
21 to strongly support the merger of Banc One and NBD
22 First Chicago.
23 And I do this primarily based upon the
24 record of practical day-to-day partnership that
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1 exists in Columbus between Banc One, and not just
2 Columbus Countrywide, which is the primary
3 small business lender in the area, but a whole
4 range of other economic development, social
5 service organizations, the Ohio State University,
6 and so on.
7 Let me give you four specific examples of
8 Banc One's involvement.
9 The first is their involvement in regular
10 standard small business lending through the SBA 504
11 program. In our business, we make loans -- second
12 mortgage loans to small businesses for real estate
13 expansions so they can grow and hire people.
14 Since 1981, Banc One has financed
15 $60 million in SBA 504 financing in essentially
16 three counties of central Ohio. This is about
17 14 percent of the total investment that our
18 certified development company has made in SBA 504
19 financing. They are the lead bank in this area.
20 Second is the area of microenterprise
21 financing. In 1993, we established a central Ohio
22 microloan program. We did this by using funding
23 from the Small Business Administration, but it
24 required contributions of area lenders to establish
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1 a loan loss reserve fund.
2 Banc One was the first in the gate. They
3 contributed $14,000 to this program. It was a
4 small amount, but since then we've put out just
5 under a million dollars in financing to 150
6 start-up small businesses primarily in the inner
7 city of Columbus. 30 percent of this has gone to
8 minority-owned businesses, 49 percent to
9 women-owned businesses and 40 percent to low-income
10 business owners.
11 The third area is microenterprise
12 training, which you discover when you make loans to
13 start-up small businesses is it's not just the
14 money, it's the ability to run the business.
15 Banc One was the lead founder of a program
16 in Columbus called Fast Track, which was set up by
17 a group called the Ohio Foundation for
18 Entrepreneurial Education, which is a practical
19 day-to-day training program to help entrepreneurs
20 become better entrepreneurs.
21 To date, they've put $65,000 in
22 operational funding in and have funded $15,000 in
23 scholarships. In 18 months, we've basically
24 trained 150 small businesses.
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1 Fourth, recently Banc One participated in
2 the establishment of the Columbus Growth Fund,
3 which is a Mezzanine Financing Fund between debt
4 and equity targeted at minority women-owned
5 businesses in the city of Columbus.
6 Banc One's specific involvement has been
7 $545,000 towards this project. Banc One's
8 involvement is not just money. It's day-to-day
9 involvement by their officers, both line lenders,
10 by senior managers and loan review committees,
11 evaluations of applications. They really put in
12 thousands of hours.
13 Let me stress a couple of points. The
14 first one is our organization, as I've said, is not
15 the only game in town. I represent but one facet
16 of Banc One's involvement in Columbus economic
17 development activities.
18 Second thing is that there's been some
19 concern about the impact of Banc One's local
20 economic development activities by the impact of
21 the merger.
22 In another role, I am the President of an
23 organization called the National Association of
24 Development Companies, which is an association of
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1 groups like ours around the country.
2 And when Banc One would buy a local bank,
3 I would get calls from local certified development
4 companies around the country saying, you're from
5 Columbus, tell us about Banc One. I tell them
6 about my good experience.
7 And with almost universal response, six
8 to twelve months later these certified development
9 companies call back and say, you know, you were
10 right, it took them a little while, but, in fact,
11 they're very active in local economic development.
12 Around the country, they seem to be having this
13 effect.
14 A lot has been said here about the
15 desirability of having special agreements. I want
16 to finish by saying that we don't have a special
17 agreement with Banc One. We don't have a written
18 piece of paper.
19 What we have is a practical, day-to-day
20 working relationship with the bank that caused --
21 has obligations on our part to do our job,
22 obligations on Banc One's part to help do this.
23 And we strongly support the merger.
24 MS. SMITH: Thank you very much.
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1 MR. BARBASH: Thank you.
2 MS. SMITH: Ms. Carlstedt.
3 MS. CARLSTEDT: Is this --
4 MS. SMITH: I'm not sure that that -- here,
5 just use that one.
6 MS. CARLSTEDT: Thank you for this opportunity
7 to address the Federal Reserve Panel. My name is
8 Moria Carlstedt, and I am the President of the
9 Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership.
10 The partnership was formed in 1988 and is
11 a catalyst and intermediary to support the
12 creation of affordable housing opportunities in
13 Indianapolis, as well as just to support the
14 sustaining of our current affordable housing
15 stock.
16 Through partnerships with Federal, State
17 and local governments, as well as our philanthropic
18 institutions, community development corporations
19 and the financial institutions, the Indianapolis
20 Neighborhood Housing Partnership has been involved
21 in counselling, credit counselling, home ownership
22 training and direct lending through loan pools.
23 Since 1988, we have counselled
24 approximately 5,000 customers. We have conducted
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1 150 classes. And we've been involved in
2 approximately 2,000 units of home ownership
3 opportunity and/or quality rental opportunities.
4 The Housing Partnership has had a
5 long-standing relationship with Banc One and First
6 Chicago NBD. They have been with us since the
7 beginning. Both institutions have participated in
8 two single-family loan pool opportunities, as well
9 as one multi-family loan pool.
10 Banc One and First Chicago represented --
11 First Chicago NBD, excuse me, represented
12 approximately 46 percent of our first loan pool,
13 they represent 40 percent of our existing loan
14 pool and about 66 of our multi-family lending
15 loan pool.
16 The pools have been the primary source
17 of funds dedicated to creating affordable and
18 low-income housing opportunities in Indianapolis.
19 Additionally, among the financial
20 institutions, since 1988 Banc One and First Chicago
21 NBD have been the single largest donating -- they
22 have donated more money to our partnership and
23 supported our operations.
24 They also have membership on our Board of
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1 Directors and have been actively involved in our
2 community in the -- supporting the affordable
3 housing delivery system.
4 The Housing Partnership has been working
5 with Banc One and we have been in communications
6 with Banc One to ensure that the momentum and
7 significant community -- the significant community
8 development activity that has taken place over the
9 years remains at a pace that will meet the needs of
10 our citizens.
11 The Housing Partnership recognizes and
12 respects the business activities or the business
13 reasons for the merger. And we believe that
14 Banc One will, in fact, remain a strong community
15 partner.
16 We are always there in communication with
17 Banc One to remind them that the post-merger bank
18 will need to remain committed to our organization
19 and other organizations such as ours, like the
20 Community Development Corporations and other
21 partners and stakeholders.
22 It is imperative that Banc One remain
23 involved in order to enable us to sustain the pace
24 at which we are developing affordable housing
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1 opportunities.
2 We are communicating with Banc One on a
3 regular basis to remind them of the tremendous
4 financial investment that has taken place in
5 Indianapolis over the years.
6 Our philanthropic institutions and our
7 community development corporations, the government
8 and the private sector, have worked well together
9 and we have made tremendous accomplishments. And
10 Banc One and First National and NBD have been there
11 primarily in the form of the loan pools and by
12 supporting the partnership.
13 We are always reminding Banc One of the
14 need for them to continue to play a significant
15 role. Our community has just completed a task
16 force which will guide our growth and our community
17 in the form of its housing policy for the next ten
18 years. And it is clear that Banc One and all of
19 the financial institutions will be imperative -- it
20 will be imperative that they participate in our
21 growth in the next ten years.
22 Finally, we don't hesitate to remind Banc
23 One and the other banks in our community about the
24 profitable business opportunities in remaining in
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1 partnership and remaining actively engaged in the
2 community development movement.
3 Through our counselling, we refer
4 hundreds, hundreds of citizens to Banc One and
5 other banks in our community who and then -- who
6 then are able to access traditional mortgage
7 products.
8 Banc One and the Indianapolis Neighborhood
9 Housing Partnership have communicated throughout
10 this entire process. And we are optimistic that
11 that communication will continue to the benefit of
12 the community.
13 Therefore, based on the significant level
14 of participation of Banc One and the history of the
15 Community Development Corporation of the community
16 development movement and in their commitment to the
17 partnership, as well as assurances that we have
18 received during this process and a belief that
19 local bank management will, in fact, be making
20 decisions for the local community, the Housing
21 Partnership is encouraged about the future.
22 And we believe that Banc One will remain
23 committed to the Indianapolis community, to the
24 partnership and to community development. Thank
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1 you for this opportunity.
2 MS. SMITH: Thank you. Ms. Jones-Kibby.
3 MS. JONES-KIBBY: Hello. I want to thank
4 you -- I need a microphone.
5 Good afternoon. I want to thank you for
6 the opportunity to speak out in support of the
7 merger between Banc One and First Chicago NBD.
8 My name is Denise Jones-Kibby, and I'm the
9 Policy Director at Women's Self-Employment Project,
10 as well as the Chair of Illinois State
11 Microenterprise Initiative, also known as ISMI.
12 Women's Self-employment Project founded
13 ISMI in the fall of 1995. ISMI is a coalition of
14 service providers, financial institutions, State,
15 local and private agencies.
16 Our mission is to provide an organized
17 voice to advocate for community economic
18 empowerment and to create growth opportunities
19 for microenterprise development throughout the
20 state of Illinois.
21 Microenterprise are defined as very small
22 businesses having fewer than five employees,
23 limited access to the commercial banking sector,
24 are able to utilize a loan under $15,000 and are
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1 generally sole proprietors.
2 A study by the Aspen Institute found that
3 entrepreneurs served by microenterprise development
4 programs are predominantly women, people of color
5 and low to moderate income.
6 Many microenterprise businesses are
7 located in residential communities. By providing
8 business services in residential communities,
9 microenterprise affords economic fabric that is
10 critical to maintaining economically viable
11 neighborhoods.
12 There are over 200,000 microenterprise
13 businesses in Chicago. Microenterprise is growing
14 at an annual rate of 7 to 8 percent. The number of
15 microenterprise businesses is expected to reach
16 27.8 million nationwide by the year 2001.
17 66 percent of the new jobs created
18 in Illinois between 1992 and 1996 were
19 microenterprises compared with the net loss of
20 jobs in firms over 100 employees.
21 As a number of microenterprise businesses
22 increase in Illinois, it is imperative that the
23 government and private sector leaders recognize and
24 support microenterprise as an essential component
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1 of economic development and welfare-to-work
2 strategies that result in job creation and
3 self-sufficiency.
4 I am testifying today to inform you that
5 Banc One Illinois has been very supportive of
6 ISMI's efforts to promote microenterprise in
7 Illinois. Banc One was one of the first financial
8 institutions to join ISMI and has taken a
9 leadership role in several of its initiatives.
10 In March of 1998, ISMI held its first
11 statewide microenterprise conference in
12 Springfield, Illinois. Banc One financially
13 sponsored the conference, assisted in the planning
14 and facilitated discussions.
15 Banc One has also taken a leadership role
16 in the development of a database and a directory of
17 microenterprise organizations in Illinois. We
18 anticipate that both items will be accessible
19 through the Internet in the near future.
20 Access to information is often cited as an
21 impediment to microenterprise development. And
22 ISMI anticipates that this second edition of the
23 directory will be as popular and useful statewide
24 as the first.
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1 Banc One is working with other ISMI
2 members to research and develop a report
3 identifying the barriers faced by
4 microentrepreneurs in Illinois.
5 We will use this report to increase our
6 advocacy for creating a public and private sector
7 environment in Illinois that fosters
8 microenterprise development in fund-raising.
9 As ISMI works towards its goals of
10 developing a comprehensive public policy agenda
11 that promotes microenterprise as a viable economic
12 development alternative, especially for communities
13 with limited access to resources, addressing the
14 needs of microenterprise development programs and
15 building a network to exchange information between
16 microenterprise organizations in Illinois, ISMI
17 believes that Banc One will continue to be a
18 valuable partner and, therefore, ISMI supports this
19 merger application. Thank you.
20 MS. SMITH: Thank you very much. Mr. Kudek.
21 MR. KUDEK: Thank you.
22 My name is Ken Kudek. I'm Assistant
23 Director and Vice President of Focus Hope in
24 Detroit. Focus Hope is a human and civil rights
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1 organization. And we are this year celebrating our
2 30th anniversary.
3 I think it's fair to say, up front, that
4 First Chicago NBD is one of three major banks that
5 we do a lot of business with in Detroit. We have
6 an operating budget of $60.2 million and usually
7 have a capital devolvement budget of $20 million a
8 year operating, okay? At least two of those banks
9 probably wish I wasn't here testifying in favor of
10 this merger today.
11 The programs that we run, let me start
12 with the key program, the Food Prescription
13 Program. It's a Federal Commodities Supplemental
14 Food Program for low-income pregnant women,
15 postpartum women, infants and children to six years
16 of age and senior citizens in Detroit.
17 During the first Reagan administration, we
18 actually got it introduced as a pilot legislation
19 when every other program -- social program in the
20 United States was coming under jeopardy.
21 The Food Prescription Program in the last
22 depression that we had in Detroit, which was in
23 1991, fed 90,000 people a year. It's that
24 experience that drives us as a civil and human
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1 rights organization to community and economic
2 development.
3 We chose human skill development as the
4 primary driver, the one thing that could not be
5 relocated easily and the kind of thing that put
6 us into technical training in the deals that
7 we're in.
8 Effectively, those technical training
9 programs are viewed as breakthrough. They're
10 copied in the United States from Los Angeles
11 through St. Louis to Philadelphia. And we now have
12 a clone coming up in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
13 In those programs, high school graduates,
14 who in the United States come out with Sixth Grade
15 math and Eighth Grade reading functionally, can end
16 up with a Bachelor's of Manufacturing Engineering
17 and human experience time.
18 We take people from Eighth Grade math and
19 Eighth Grade reading in seven weeks to be able to
20 do technical training; that is, Eleventh Grade math
21 and about Tenth Grade reading in the seven weeks,
22 all in human time.
23 These are all poor folks. 80 percent of
24 the population is African American, 45 percent in
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1 a nontraditional field of manufacturing and
2 machining and engineering are female, 80 percent
3 are low income.
4 The place in which we live is
5 a low-income section of Detroit. We see poverty
6 day in and day out. We don't like it. We want to
7 change it. That is our mission, to eliminate
8 poverty, racism and adjust it.
9 To -- I've heard a number of concerns
10 about housing care. By the way, our bias on that
11 is, if you create the human skills so that people
12 are productive, you draw jobs. Jobs create money.
13 Money creates housing. I don't need Federal
14 Legislation to create housing. I need jobs, okay?
15 We have had, for the last 20 years -- we
16 looked at it last year -- fiduciary responsibility
17 for over one-half billion of Federal dollars alone,
18 500 million Federal dollars. The departments that
19 have put their confidence in us are Agriculture,
20 HHS, DOD, DOL, DOE, DOC, HUD, to name a few. Okay?
21 I say all this because bona
22 fese (phonetic) are important. And I've
23 listened in the audience for a while to my brother
24 and sister colleagues who are in community and
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1 economic development who are on the other side of
2 this issue.
3 We've known NBD -- and I'll refer to them
4 as NBD because it's the old name. I don't change
5 that easily.
6 We've known NBD since we had $110.48 to
7 put in the bank. In the 30 years of history, one
8 sees both good times and bad times as a civil human
9 rights organization. NBD was always there.
10 As I said, we had a fiduciary
11 responsibility for a lot of Federal money, State
12 money, local money, foundation money all over the
13 place. And in each of those cases, particularly on
14 the Federal Government, the State side and the
15 local governmental side, it is extremely, extremely
16 slow pay. NBD has been there with a line of
17 credit.
18 I only have one minute left, so I'll take
19 on the two objections. One is Banc One, who I
20 don't know, has a bad history of lending, possibly
21 discriminatory. You guys need to look into that.
22 I'm a civil and human rights guy. You need to look
23 into that.
24 The second is that consolidation may lead
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1 to disinvestment. I don't believe that's true. My
2 experience with NBD and Bank -- First of Chicago
3 NBD since the merger is that there has been more
4 re-investment and not less re-investment in
5 Detroit. And thank you for your time.
6 MS. SMITH: Thank you. Ms. Ratner.
7 MS. RATNER: I'm Hedy Ratner, and I'm
8 Co-President of the Women's Business Development
9 Center.
10 Thank you for the opportunity to present
11 my response to the proposed merger of Banc One with
12 First Chicago NBD in support for Chicago NBD and
13 Banc One's merger and commitment to both the letter
14 and spirit of the Community Reinvestment Act.
15 Representing thousands of women and
16 minority business owners in the Chicagoland area,
17 the WBDC is involved in First Chicago NBD's
18 continuing investment into low and moderate income
19 families, business and neighborhoods and
20 specifically in its efforts to provide access to
21 credit in those communities.
22 The Women's Business Development Center
23 has a positive first-time experience with First
24 Chicago NBD since the inception of our organization
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1 in 1986.
2 The WBDC provides counselling,
3 entrepreneurial training, financial assistance,
4 business and strategic planning, marketing and
5 procurement assistance and assistance with loans to
6 start-up, emerging and mature businesses.
7 Our organization is now the oldest and one
8 of the largest and most comprehensive women's
9 business assistance centers in the United States.
10 First Chicago has been our partner in
11 economic development providing support for our
12 organization, loans to our client, funds for our
13 collateral pool to collateralize small business
14 loans, program-related investments for microlending
15 to women and minority start-up businesses, involved
16 with our Board of Directors, participation as a
17 lender in our women's business bank loan program
18 and participation in our annual events at
19 conferences and marts, and is committed to vendor
20 development and purchasing from minority and women
21 business owners, one of our major missions.
22 Recently, the Women's Business Development
23 Center and First Chicago NBD began a wonderful new
24 partnership to provide business development,
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1 financial assistance and banking services to low
2 and moderate income communities.
3 First Chicago NBD and the WBDC are taking
4 our programs and services on the road with the
5 Wheels of Business mobile van to make our programs
6 and services more available and accessible in
7 low-income communities.
8 This innovative new business program will
9 bring information and services, counselling and
10 entrepreneurial training, banking services, credit
11 advice and counselling, financial assistance,
12 Internet training and access to that technology, as
13 well as self-employment opportunities to
14 economically disadvantaged communities.
15 Women, and specifically those in
16 low-income communities, have been left out of
17 economic opportunities. Women face numerous
18 barriers to economic self-sufficiency because of
19 lack of affordable child care and access to
20 transportations, quality education and jobs.
21 The First Chicago NBD Worlds -- Wheels
22 of Business -- First Chicago NBD-WBDC-Wheels of
23 Business approach helps us provide resources,
24 information and support to those who need --
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1 most need help.
2 The WBDC is also a partner with Banc One.
3 It has been part of the Women's Business Bank Loan
4 Program, participated in our annual conferences and
5 supports the WBDC and provides loans to our
6 clients.
7 WBDC is also partnering with ACCION, a
8 neighborhood microlender which has received
9 considerable support and encouragement from First
10 Chicago NBD.
11 With ACCION providing loans and WBDC
12 providing business assistance, the small businesses
13 in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods have a
14 better chance for success in the communities and
15 increased opportunities neighborhood
16 revitalization.
17 CANDO, a microlender and a neighborhood
18 development organization, has also been our partner
19 and a partner of First Chicago NBD for many years,
20 lending, developing and supporting Chicago's
21 economic strength.
22 The partnership of private and public
23 sector, nonprofit and for-profit entities is
24 also evident in First Chicago's involvement with
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1 the Illinois Capital Access Program, a
2 state-based small business loan initiative begun
3 in early 1997. CAP is now one of the most
4 successful programs for access to capitals for
5 small businesses.
6 First Chicago NBD is the most active
7 lender in this successful program. CAP's incentive
8 program provides more ways for First Chicago to
9 approve loans for small business.
10 For the WBDC and other community
11 development organizations, to truly understand the
12 issues of small business lending in low and
13 moderate income communities, gender and race based
14 lender data that has been available for housing is
15 not available for small business.
16 With good research, gender and race based
17 data, we can develop the successful policies and
18 programs for small business lending in the next
19 century. We, therefore, look to First Chicago with
20 Banc One to be the precedent-setter and to lead
21 national efforts in changing Regulation B.
22 This is a tiny window of opportunity.
23 The Federal agencies are requesting comment and
24 recommendations on Reg B from the general public.
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McCORKLE COURT REPORTERS, INC.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - (312) 263-0052
1 Although our organization and hundreds
2 of community and economic development organizations
3 agree that the requirement of gender and race
4 based commercial lending data is necessary for
5 policy and appropriate development, we would like
6 to see the participation of major banks in this
7 effort as well.
8 The WBDC and many of our colleagues across
9 the nation are also very concerned about the effect
10 bank mergers will have on small business lending.
11 The standardization of underwriting
12 criteria, the removal of lending decision-making
13 from the first-line banker, which is the continuing
14 trend in larger and merged banks, is detrimental
15 to the growth of small businesses in the inner
16 cities.
17 Although intermediaries like ours -- oops,
18 am I off? I'm off. Well, I'm done, I guess.
19 MS. SMITH: Thank you very much. We will
20 keep -- we will put your entire statement into the
21 record.
22 MS. RATNER: Thank you.
23 MS. SMITH: Any questions? All right. We're
24 ready for Panel 16.
324
McCORKLE COURT REPORTERS, INC.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - (312) 263-0052
1 All right. We're going to start with
2 Mr. Ellis, if someone will give him the mike.