Veteran Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-43) and Ranking Member of the Financial Services Committee brought her impactful Town Hall Meeting aimed at the banking and lending industry, respectively, to Inglewood High School’s auditorium on Dec. 2.
Previously, the iconic legislator hosted the event at the 2023 Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference and the response was resounding, so much so that Rep. Waters decided to bring the platform to her district in the heart of the South Bay so that her constituents could have their issues addressed by industry leaders directly.
Panelists included representatives of federal and state agencies supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs, but also and just as significantly leaders of the three major banks, Wells Fargo, PNC Bank and City National Bank.
Rep. Waters also invited Chase and Bank of America but neither of them selected to have a seat at the table to listen to and address the concerns of their minority, specifically Black customers.
The banking executives on hand were Colleen Canny, Executive Vice President and National Head of Branch Banking for Wells Fargo, David Cameron, Executive Vice President of Personal & Business Banking for City National Bank and Jeffrey Martinez, Executive Vice President and Head of Branch Banking for PNC Bank.
The Congresswoman immediately tackled the cultural deficiencies that transpire that large corporate banks that operate in our intimate small minority community.
“We like to go to the bank and talk to the teller as we put our money across the counter, we like to go to the post office and take our mail, we like to go vote at the polling places, we like this kind of interaction with the people that we do business with and I think that’s a cultural consideration that the banks should take into account,” Rep. Waters requested of the panel, to a round of applause from the packed audience.
Each panelist was allowed a brief introduction before Rep. Waters grilled them on specific concerns and then allowed for the audience to ask questions of the bankers.
It is advisable that any banker or lender that accepts an invitation to a Rep. Waters forum that they come with their “A Game” and have all of their ducks in a row, because one thing she has demonstrated over and over is that she is a steadfast advocate for the people she serves even if it is not a convenient stance to take.
So, rest assured that when Tim Watkins, President and CEO of the Watts Labor Community Action Committee was picked by Rep Waters to ask a question of the panel it was going to be a doozy and Canny got the worst of it.
The Wells Fargo VP ultimately succumbed to a Rep. Waters demanded that she meet with Watkins at the WLAC headquarters in Watts for which she concurred.
Another notable community organization that was called upon to ask a question was the Consolidated Board of Realtists, a group of young dynamic African-American real estate Brokers formed after being denied membership in local real estate boards and trade organizations.
This organization had representatives go into a City National Bank on Crenshaw Blvd. only to discover that there was no lending specialist in the bank.
Thus, the organization did what most Black organizations in Los Angeles do, they called on “Auntie Maxine” as she is so affectionately referred to for help.
So, when Rep. Waters inquired if there were any members of the group at the town hall, she was not alarmed when it appeared that half the audience stood up as representatives of Consolidated Board of Realtist.
The Congresswoman could have easily asked the question, but she instead allowed for one of the organization’s board members to ask the question for what the answer was already known.
Rep. Waters managed to force Cameron to address that issue directly and then inform her when the task was completed.
PNC Bank branch on the west coast, but has made pledges to open branches in Rep. Waters district but has not done so.
Therefore, it was no surprise when Rep. Waters put Martinez on the spot about opening a branch in Watts; he had no room to back peddle and committed to opening two branches in Rep. Waters District.
The lending industry followed the banking panelist to close out the town hall.
STANDING TALL–(From left) Everett Sands, CEO Lendistry; Dr. Carolyn Staten-Patton, Manager, Financial Wealth Building & Community Housing Department, West Angeles Community Development Corporation; Congresswoman Maxine Waters; Anna “Queen” Tutt, President Consolidated Consolidated Board of Realtist of Southern California and Avy Malik, General Counsel, California’s department of Financial Protection & Innovation.
