A community group said Monday that regulators should not let Roslyn (N.Y.) Savings Bank buy Roosevelt Savings Bank, Garden City, N.Y.
According to Bronx, N.Y.-based Inner City Press/Community on the Move, Roslyn's community lending record is "abysmal" and the bank has a "needs to improve" Community Reinvestment Act rating, putting it in the bottom 2%. In February, Roslyn agreed to pay $3 million to settle New York State charges of lending bias.
"The only enforcement of CRA is the denial of a bank's merger application," said Matthew Lee, Inner City's executive director. "This ill- conceived merger proposal should be denied."
A spokesman for Roslyn declined to comment.
Inner City filed a 10-page challenge with both the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the state Banking Department. Roslyn announced the deal in May. -Scott Barancik