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SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 81

 
2     WHEREAS, Illinois' community financial institutions
3 provide the local support our communities need to prosper and
4 grow; and
 
5     WHEREAS, With more than $130 billion in assets, community
6 banks know that when money stays in communities it becomes a
7 renewable resource, creating an economic cycle that constantly
8 revitalizes and stimulates local communities; and
 
9     WHEREAS, These banks have made significant contributions
10 to the economic well-being of the communities they serve
11 through their financial support, their dedication as good
12 neighbors, and above all, their service as financially sound
13 and reliable sources of economic lifeblood in our communities;
14 and
 
15     WHEREAS, Park National Bank, a subsidiary of FBOP Corp.,
16 was a model community bank that successfully provided the
17 quality services, access to capital, and commitment to
18 community reinvestment that all financial institutions should
19 provide, such as creating jobs for local residents; investing
20 in new schools, start-up businesses, and affordable housing;
21 supporting the work of local non-profit and cultural
22 organizations; and exemplifying innovation, fairness, and

 

 

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1 flexibility; and
 
2     WHEREAS, On October 30, 2009, after FBOP Corp.'s request
3 for $500 million in Troubled Asset Relief Program assistance
4 was denied, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation seized
5 the assets of Park National Bank; and
 
6     WHEREAS, The closure of this bank came hours after Treasury
7 Secretary Timothy Geithner attended a ceremony in Chicago that
8 awarded Park National Bank $50 million in tax credits to help
9 spur community-development projects in low-income communities;
10 and
 
11     WHEREAS, The rules of the FDIC create a double standard
12 that harms our communities because community banks are seized
13 and sold, even though the Treasury Secretary says Park National
14 Bank is doing all the right things to help turn itself around;
15 and
 
16     WHEREAS, Other community banks that make the spirit and
17 letter of the Community Reinvestment Act their core mission may
18 be in jeopardy; and
 
19     WHEREAS, A coalition of church and community leaders from
20 across Chicago's neighborhoods have taken the initiative to
21 raise awareness about the FDIC's actions against Park National

 

 

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1 Bank; the Coalition's initial steps have included conducting
2 research on the impact that the FDIC's seizure of Park National
3 Bank will have on minority lending and mortgage foreclosures in
4 the community; developing a petition drive calling for a
5 Congressional Hearing investigating the FDIC's actions and the
6 apparent lack of federal aid for a model community bank, and
7 holding a Community Town Hall Meeting; and
 
8     WHEREAS, For community banks to continue being an integral
9 part in the development of our communities and this State as a
10 whole, the federal government needs to consider reforms to
11 assist and preserve community banks; therefore, be it
 
12     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL
13 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
14 CONCURRING HEREIN, that we urge the United States House of
15 Representatives Financial Services Committee and the United
16 States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
17 to continue hearings to investigate the FDIC's seizure of Park
18 National Bank for the impacts that this action will have on the
19 communities that Park National Bank has served so well, and the
20 wider implications for the future of community banking; and be
21 it further
 
22     RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
23 delivered to the members of the Illinois congressional

 

 

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1 delegation, United States Representative Barney Frank, and
2 United States Senator Christopher Dodd.