“I
believe in our quest for a pluralistic and inclusive society where opportunity
and support are broadly and fairly distributed, and our past
failures—particularly in the area of race—are faced head on and provide us with
the tools to do better."
Chairman
Jay Clayton
U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC
How undervalued assets add value to a 21st
Century Bank-Merger
By Eric Stradford, U.S. Marine Corps, Retired
AMWS April 25, 2019, Charlotte, NC -- Regional banks, SunTrust and
BB&T, presented their request to economic stakeholders today – proposing a
new, yet to be named, “values-based”
financial institution with an estimated $441 billion in combined assets. The pro forma company would also hold approximately
$301 billion in loans and $324 billion in deposits. The proposed merger is expected to impact
some 10-million households in the Atlanta and Richmond Federal
Reserve Bank Regions.
Friends of the court intend to file an amicus brief in United
States District Court, South Carolina District, alleging patterns
of behavior outlawed by P.L.
91-450. The court action neither objects to nor
supports the proposed bank merger between SunTrust and BB&T. It assesses need for $100-million economic inclusion
within a $100-billion
vision of America’s future.
Historically undervalued Americans are the
beneficiaries of an unprecedented socioeconomic action. According
to Politico, certain language in the 2017 tax cut
law now rolling out across the U.S. allows investors to defer
capital gains taxes for up to a decade if they invest their cash in rural and
small-town communities largely left behind in the recovery from the Great
Recession.
A lineage of U.S.
bank mergers dating back to 1900 may have undervalued many
historically disadvantaged people, particularly enslaved Africans and women in
“culturally
aligned” criminal enterprises described as “Mergers
of Equals.”
The last time SunTrust engaged in a merger of equals was 2004 when
it took over National Bank of Commerce in Memphis, TN. Bank of Commerce & Trust got started
in 1873, a year after Alpheus Branch and Thomas Jefferson Hadley founded the
Branch and Hadley merchant bank in their hometown of Wilson, North Carolina. The Branch Hadley enterprise, reportedly the
largest business in the “farming community,”
eventually became BB&T (Branch Bank & Trust).
In the proposed merger of equals, the smaller bank (BB&T)
takes over the larger bank, SunTrust. Ironically,
it is not the first time in U.S. history that Carolina value changed Georgia
values. In their life, liberty and
pursuit of economic security, Carolina planters sought to expand their rice
economy into the Georgia Lowcountry. By
the time it happened, an historic
undervaluation of assets seemed never to have taken place. Some good people in the Georgia Lowcountry
believed that the undervaluation
of assets was essential to their economic prosperity. During the remainder of the colonial period,
no white Georgian voices were raised to challenge that assumption.
Among the rural and small-town communities left behind across the
nation is historic Mayesville, South Carolina.
Mayesville is the birthplace of Mary Jane McLeod, an extraordinary
daughter of enslaved Africans. This Black girl from Mayesville grew up to teach, empower
others, start a university, serve as an advisor to two U.S. presidents and
consultant to the United Nations.
Today’s learners are getting to know this uniquely endowed American by nine
values bequeathed in her last will and testament.
This is one Black woman, a descendent of Free Africans, enslaved
in the great state of South Carolina.
But she’s done something for her historically disadvantaged heirs. Get
your whip out my friend, and let’s get busy countering a credible threat to National
Security threat on Our Streets, USA!
#WeThePeople trust you, the Majority Whip, to crack that whip in
providing for our common defence.” Once
upon a time, the duties of the majority whip were to (1) assist the floor
leader, (2) ensure member attendance, (3) count votes and (4) generally
communicate the majority position. That
was before Black Panther! That was
before we discovered our real-life “vibranium”
in an historically undervalued vision
of the future.
According to SunTrust
Bank, cash alternatives, one of three classes of assets, offer a
lower potential for growth than other types of assets but are the least
volatile. They are subject to inflation
risk, the chance that returns won't outpace rising prices. They provide easier access to funds than
longer-term investments and may be appropriate for investment goals that are
short-term.
“Vibranium”
is one asset targeted for recovery through a $100 million fight against poverty
in the U.S. Most Americans are in denial
about its value within multi-billion enterprises and even its existence. “Vibranium” has had ripple effects throughout
the entire U.S. economy, with plenty of merchants in New York City, Boston, and
elsewhere helping to organize the trade of agricultural bi-products—and
enjoying plenty of riches as a result.
As you very well know, two banks in our region plan to merge
themselves into the 6th largest bank in the United States. The new name of this $441-billion merged asset
will need to address twice
as much TRUST
as they do as separate entities. The 45th
President of the United States has proclaimed that “Economic
Security is National Security.” But, borrowed talking points should never
replace sustainable public
policy.
Under the banner of “economic security is national security.” The Trump administration’s corporate tax cuts,
allegedly, “spur investment and catalyze innovation.” Such politically partisan “dog
whistles” historically distract political leaders from the same
types of threats that resulted in lost lives at Pearl Harbor (Dec 7, 1941) and,
not so long ago in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC on 9-11-2001.
When we consider modern-day outcries in the form of hashtags such
as #BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo and #Enough, #WeThePeople can see the impact of a
dream deferred on our own friends and family.
In domestic #EconomicSecurity terms, a new and improved “vibranium”
whip commands consensus on a 10-20-30
Formula to Fight Persistent Poverty.
In the United States, sources say there are 485 counties where 20
percent or more of the population has been living below the poverty line for
the last 30 years. These counties mired in persistent poverty are as diverse as
our great nation: Appalachian
communities in Kentucky and North Carolina, Native American communities in
South Dakota and Alaska, Latino communities in Arizona and New Mexico, and
African American communities in Mississippi and South Carolina. They lack access
to quality schools, affordable quality health care and adequate job
opportunities.
“This is not a partisan issue,” stated House Majority Whip Jim
Clyburn. “In 2009, these counties were represented in Congress by 43 Democrats
and 84 Republicans. Democrats
represented 149 of them, with a total population of 8.8 million; Republicans
311, with a total population of 8.3 million; and 14, with a total population of
5.3 million, were split between Republicans and Democrats.”
Beginning May 18th, 2019, business and political
leaders can sponsor one of 100 future trustees for a $100 million trust. Connect one American economic beneficiary,
age 7-24. (ANNUAL DEADLINE APRIL 15TH).
The Dr. Mary
McLeod Bethune Legacy Trusts, established
from nine historically omitted ASSETS FOR
INDEPENDENCE, will engage
Americans, age 7-24 as Community Assets where they live, learn, work and/or
worship.
These economic beneficiaries will engage in LEARN-2-EARN
activities to certify them them as TRUSTEES in an unprecedent wealth transfer
strategy. Plans for new Bethune Learning
and Earning Centers are moving forward on faith that America’s business,
community, institutional and elected leaders will join forces to make business
as usual a practice of the past.
Contrary to opinions expressed in Community Reinvestment
definitions by banks seeking approval to merge, as “values-based organizations,”
a VBO is a living, breathing culture of shared core values among all
stakeholders. This is different from the
traditional community structure which is a more machine-like, business approach
that focuses on an authoritarian type relationship or rigid organizational
structure.
A values-based organization is a culture shaped by a clear set of
ground rules establishing a foundation and guiding principles for
decision-making, actions and a sense of community. In a values-driven culture, the needs of the
many must align with the trusted organization’s values in order to sustain an
inclusive, unified and motivated workforce.
Bank management and leadership must set examples for their
organizations and live the values they preach. Strongly held value-systems rarely change
yet remain flexible to handle changes in
strategy or outside
influences. A strongly held values-based culture or purpose will
remain more stable over time and is characterized by productivity and total
community commitment and TRUST.
The proposed merged entity between BB&T and SunTrust will
become the 6th largest U.S. bank. The
two banks have yet to address some $533 million in public assets and
allocations drawn from the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFIFund)
of the United States Government. Historically,
these public allocations have benefited wealthy Americans who receive tax
credits for investments in low income communities.
Historically, low-income communities experience a lack of
investment, as evidenced by vacant properties, outdated manufacturing
facilities, and inadequate access to education and healthcare service
providers. The New Market Tax Credit
Program (NMTC Program) was supposed to break this cycle of disinvestment by
attracting the private investment necessary to reinvigorate struggling local
economies.
The NMTC Program was set up within the U.S. Treasury to attract
private capital into low-income communities by “permitting individual and
corporate investors to receive a tax credit against their federal income tax in
exchange for making equity investments in specialized financial intermediaries
called Community Development Entities (CDEs),” according to the federal
government. The credit totals 39 percent
of the original investment amount and is claimed over a period of seven years.
In Mayesville, SC, a story of rural neglect due to the lack of
inclusive economic security reveals undervalued assets in the legacy of one Dr.Mary McLeod Bethune. Colonies of Great
Britain, Spain and France were established on Turtle
Island. The inhabitants were
unaware that this visit was actually an invasion of their sovereign land to be
followed up by centuries of illegal occupation.
On March 18, 1866, The King of Great Britain declared
revenue-generating activities in one of its colonies, established on Turtle
Island, to be illegal. This
declaration establishes a pattern of behavior that threatens 21st
Century, domestic U.S. Economic Security policy.
According to South Carolina historical records, Lieutenant Colonel
Matthew Mayes is believed to have served in the South Carolina Militia during
the War for American Independence (also known as the Revolutionary War). Mayes
was the son of Daniel Mayes and his bride, Elizabeth Drury.
Nov. 10-21 1775: Ninety Six, SC, Patriots sieged. In Philadelphia, PA, on Nov 10, 1775 an
evolving new government raised a Corps of
Marines under Captain Samuel Nicolas. Lt. Colonel Matthew Peterson MAYES, Sr. (son of Drury) born in 1750 would have been 25
years young on Nov 10, 1775.
The colonel’s son, Matthew Peterson “Squire” Mayes II reportedly
moved to Sumter County, South Carolina, and gave Mayesville its name just after
the war of 1812. The Junior Mayes, Jr. is said to have settled Mayesville, SC, carrying
on a family farming enterprise
that stretches back to the early 19th century
The historical records tend to omit real-life “vibranium” value. Such value is just now being revealed through historical research by qualifying institutions of higher learning. As a child, Mary Jane McLeod lived in a one-room house just outside the Town Limits of Mayesville. Her parents were Free Africans enslaved by the people who brought them to Sumter County. Federal investigators might review undisputable evidence of stolen peoples’ equity and the impact of its omission on the lives of countless 21st Century American beneficiaries.
“Vibrainium” in Mayesville, South Carolina
- April 1668 – William Mayes died
- John Mayes (Son of William)
- 1650 – 1712 Daniel MAYES Male (son of John)
- 1680 – 1763 Matthew MAYES Male (son of Daniel) (Married Elizabeth DRURY)
- 1727 Drury MAYES Male -
- 1750-1796 Lt. Colonel Matthew Peterson MAYES, Sr. (son of Drury) Revolutionary War
b. 24 Nov 1794/84, d. 1 Nov 1878 “Squire” Matthew
Peterson MAYES, Jr., Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina settled Mayesville, South Carolina The
Mayes family
farming tradition stretches back to the early 19th century, when
ruling elder of Salem
Black River Presbyerian Church for 29 years.
February 13, 1865, with the assistance of Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, a bill to incorporate the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company was brought before Congress. After a brief discussion and some confusion about where the bank would be located, "An Act to Incorporate the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company" was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on March 3, 1865.
In 1872, Alpheus Branch and Thomas
Jefferson Hadley founded the Branch and Hadley merchant bank in their hometown
of Wilson, North Carolina. After many transactions, mostly with local farmers,
Branch bought out Hadley's shares in 1887 and renamed the company Branch and
Company, Bankers.
1995
|
Southern National Corp.
|
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2003
|
1st Virginia Banks, Inc.
|
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2019
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BB&T Corporation
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SunTrust Banks
|
June 20, 1874, an act of the U.S. Congress authorized trustees of Freedman's Bank, with approval of the secretary of the treasury, to appointed a three-member board to take charge of the assets of the company and to report on its financial condition to the secretary of the treasury. On June 29, 1874, less than a week after the act passed, the Freedman's Bank closed.
2019: When introducing Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton remarked, “I believe in our quest for a pluralistic and inclusive society where opportunity and support are broadly and fairly distributed, and our past failures—particularly in the area of race—are faced head on and provide us with the tools to do better. It is people like Dr. Gates who give us that context and enable us to communicate better, who help us on this journey.” Dr. Gates Jr. discussed his new documentary series, “Reconstruction: America After the Civil War” at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, DC.
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