U.S Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) will host an event in which U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and others will speak to community groups in Oakland Aug. 4 about community reinvestment in the wake of Wachovia Corp.'s purchase of Oakland-based Golden West Financial Corp.

The event will be from 2 to 5 p.m. Aug. 4 at 1301 Clay St., 3rd floor, in downtown Oakland.

Big bank mergers are often an opportunity for community groups to push for acquiring banks to make substantial commitments to community reinvestment in the form of making loans and extending banking services in areas traditionally underserved by bankers. The commitments are in keeping with the Community Reinvestment Act, a 1977 federal law requiring banks to serve all parts of the community.

Frank's remarks will be of special interest given his role as the senior Democrat on the House of Representatives' Financial Services Committee and the role he played in persuading Bank of America (NYSE: BAC - News) CEO Ken Lewis to make a solid commitment to Boston as part of its 2004 acquisition of FleetBoston Financial Corp.

BofA based its wealth management unit in Boston. The New England city, along with New York and BofA's hometown of Charlotte, N.C., are considered by some insiders as the bank's three power centers.

Community activists have long been vocal critics of Bank of America's community reinvestment activities in California since the 1998 merger between San Francisco's BankAmerica Corp. with Charlotte's NationsBank Corp. NationsBank took the bank's headquarters and name back to the Southern city. BofA has invested millions of dollars in community reinvestment lending in California in the intervening years, but the bank's power base has clearly shifted to the East.

Last month, Wachovia (NYSE: WB - News) announced that Golden West's (NYSE: GDW - News) Oakland headquarters would become the Charlotte bank's western region headquarters.

"This is a great first step towards making sure that this deal is a winner for Oakland and the East Bay," Lee said in a statement following Wachovia's announcement. "We asked Wachovia to make a commitment to our city, to making this their base as they expand their West Coast operations, and they have done that."

Lee also said at the time that she and community organizations have met with Wachovia after the proposed merger was announced to ask the company to take steps to address the needs of California and the local community.

"I am pleased that they are listening to our concerns," Lee said.

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Published August 2, 2006 by San Francisco Business Times

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