The American Prospect, December 13, 2022, KeyBank Promised to Increase Low-Income Lending, Then Did the Opposite “This example is exactly why we need to re-evaluate the merger approval process,” said Jesse Van Tol, NCRC’s president and CEO. A review of the historically permissive bank merger procedures is under way, and sorely needed. For outside groups like NCRC, it’s the only way to end this cycle of companies saying one thing and doing another. Organizations like NCRC rely on the reputational damage of a bank failing to lend to low-income or Black borrowers. But on the front end, organizations like this really matter as a character witness for a company trying to merge, just as CWA will matter in the Microsoft-Activision case. The question, ultimately, is whether a group should take advantage of a pending merger to win commitments from the company if the enforceability of those commitments is limited.
