Sixteen Philadelphia community groups and credit unions are leading a protest against Commerce Bancorp, accusing it of not lending money in minority or low-income areas.
The 12-day protest, which started Wednesday, is "designed to put pressure on Commerce Bancorp to do lending and put branches in urban areas, specifically in Philadelphia," said Chris Schweitzer, director of the Kensington Joint Action Council, a member of the Neighborhood Economic Survival Coalition.
Protesters are distributing leaflets charging Commerce with not lending to minorities and keeping branches out of low-income areas. The leaflets encourage customers to withdraw their money from Commerce and deposit it in banks or credit unions that invest in the community.
The coalition has even drafted a song, "The Twelve Days of Commerce," citing the bank's failure to offer basic banking services.
The Cherry Hill, N.J.-based bank defended its record.
"We are a very active lender in all the markets we serve," said Vernon W. Hill 2d, chairman and president of the $2.3-billion-asset banking company. "This group claims to represent organizations in Philadelphia, which has never been our service area."
Commerce is currently working with several community groups in New Jersey and Pennsylvania to help low-to-moderate-income residents open accounts, with free MAC automated teller machine cards.
The bank also announced several initiatives Nov. 1, including a commitment to invest $400,000 in community development credit unions.
"We feel it goes a long way toward satisfying our obligations under the CRA law to expand our services to the low- and moderate-income areas," Mr. Hill said. "It's being done to enhance our compliance with the law."
But, the coalition contends, Commerce did not make any housing loans to Hispanics, blacks, or Asian-Americans in Pennsylvania in 1992 or 1993. And only 1.2% of its housing loans went to minorities in New Jersey, the organization says.
Also, Commerce's main New Jersey and Pennsylvania subsidiaries both received "needs to improve" ratings on the company's latest CRA review. The third subsidiary, Commerce Bank/Shore, received a "satisfactory" rating, according to bank officials.
Commerce has 36 branches, including one in Philadelphia.
The coalition says, most of the $2.2-billion-asset bank's branches are in predominantly white, suburban areas, including its three newest branches.
Mr. Schweitzer said the coalition representatives have tried to meet with Commerce officials, but "they have yet to seriously respond to those concerns."
This is not the first time the coalition has taken Commerce to the mat over its minority-lending record. The coalition filed a protest with the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia in September after Commerce applied in August to acquire Independence Bancorp of Ramsey, N.J. A decision on the application is pending, but Fed officials are awaiting more information from Commerce about its CRA activities.
Commerce officials have publicly stated their intention to add about 50 branches in the metropolitan Philadelphia area. Coalition officials say they will fight each application unless the bank beefs up its record.
