This Week in ESG and Impact Investing

According to Black Enterprise Magazine , "Liberty Bank (No. 5 on the BE 100s bank list with $373 million in assets) has assumed all of the $13.5 million retail deposits of Home Federal Savings Bank and has purchased approximately $14.9 million of its assets. Home Federal, which was founded in May 1947, was 'critically undercapitalized and in an unsafe and unsound condition to transact business,' according to the OTS. Its two branches and eight employees reopened under the Liberty Bank and Trust Company banner on Monday. Liberty Bank was founded in 1972 and has expanded into seven metropolitan areas and six states while offering banking services and mortgage lending. 'The expansion of our banking network to Detroit is a significant benchmark in our development. We want to broaden our reach and provide our services to a larger audience,' said Alden J. McDonald Jr., Liberty Bank and Trust Company’s president and CEO, in a news release. 'This acquisition is anothe...

On Friday, November 6, 2009, state and federal regulators closed several minority banks, reducing the total number of minority owned banks in the US to 236 from 239. According to Marketwatch.com, "The failed institutions included (Asian-owned) United Commercial Bank of San Francisco, the main subsidiary of UCBH Holdings. The bank had $11.2 billion in total assets and was the seventh largest failure during the 2008-2009 crisis. The FDIC was appointed receiver and sold the failed bank's deposits and $10.2 billion of its assets to East West Bank of Pasadena, Calif., which also has operations in China and is a subsidiary of East West Bancorp. The Office of Thrift Supervision shut down (Black-owned) Home Federal Savings Bank of Detroit and appointed the FDIC receiver. The FDIC arranged for Liberty Bank and Trust of New Orleans to assume the failed thrift's deposits and its $14.9 million in total assets. The Missouri Division of Finance took over (Black-owned) Gateway Bank of St...

According to The Hill , "Now we learn that while many kids, hospitals and pregnant women cannot get enough of the swine flu vaccine, the major banks and Wall Street firms were given a private allocation. At best, this is a ridiculous distribution strategy; at worst, these firms gave some vaccines not to high-risk people but to high-profit traders and senior managers." And you were wondering where your $700 billion went. Pitchforks, anyone?

According to the Responsible Investor and SEC websites, in a major policy reversal, "the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) (will) allow shareholder resolutions (concerning) companies’ environmental and social risks.. Similar resolutions had previously been blocked under policies dating back to the Bush administration. The move was unveiled in new guidance by the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance under new director Meredith Cross. As a result, companies will no longer be able to automatically exclude resolutions seeking information on the risks of environmental, human rights and other social issues." Shareholder resolutions are now sure to include executive compensation, community development, diversity, gender, SRI, ESG and CSR issues. See: http://www.sec.gov/interps/legal/cfslb14e.htm