Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

The Board today has approved an application by Commonwealth Business Bank (CBB) to establish a branch in Fort Lee, New Jersey. I support the Board's approval of the branch, but I want to highlight the significant delays in approving this branch because of the receipt of a single adverse comment. CBB submitted its application to establish the branch in September 2024, yet because of the receipt of a single adverse comment, the application came to the Board for review and vote of the full Board. Instead of being acted upon by the Reserve Bank under delegated authority within approximately 30 days, this application has only just been presented to the Board for action nearly six months later.

This case is emblematic of the current deficient approach to processing applications in cases where a member of the public has made an adverse comment, particularly when the recent supervisory record addresses the concerns raised and is consistent with approval.¹ It is time for the Board to revisit its current approach to adverse comments.

1. Statement on Application by Vantage Bank Texas by Governor Michelle W. Bowman, June 27, 2023. Return to text