BEVERLY says:

June 20, 2008 6:30 pm

my husband and I use to have an account with this bank. we still have a saving's account but it is still open.we have gotten several loan with this bank when we have purchased our cars & truck. recently we took a loan out for a truck.payed off without any missed payments and then reborred for less money for personal needs but when I tried to get a third loan the owner told me that he basically couldn't because we were out of durisdictation of the county which is macon.which is 12 miles from clarence.he told me to go to my bank in macon, but I told him I didn't feel that I should go to my bank since I had been doing business with the loans that I had taken out. one was for $2000 and the other loan was for $1500. and I always paid early before due date. I told my husband what the man had said because my husband had been with his bank way before he and i were married. but the bank has always gave me a hard time since they were use to my husbands first wife doing business with them.I was trying to establish a credit history so that I could use them for a reference and I had explained this to the man when we took out a second loan,it really took me for a loop when the man told me that if i asked my nbank for the loan and I couldn't get it then come back to him and he would see what he could do. my question is if he thought I was such a bad risk then why did he give us a loan two times without question . and if he claim that we were out of county then why did he give us the loans because he knew that we lived in macon county. well it sounds like discrimination to me for the fact that there are no blacks in that area with in a 12 miles radius going both ways. the only few blacks live in shelbina. I was counting on that loan to pay some bills off but by him turning me down has put my finances really bad. and i am disabled. is this legal?and if so please explain as to why.

Travis says:

June 23, 2008 9:41 am

To Beverly:

If you feel you are the victim of discrimination you can contact the Missouri Commission on Human Rights.

Phillip says:

July 18, 2008 6:30 pm

I deposited a check for the amount of 6,300 I stamped it For Deposit Only with the account #, I have deposited checks with this stamp and from this person for at least 5 years with no problem. This time after a week has passed the bank decided the endorcement was not good and they pulled the check from the account. Meanwhile we have talked to the manager of the bank and she cant even find the check or cannot get anyone from Washinton Mutual to contact her. She said the fees will not be charged but in the meantime we have had 8 checks bounce because the check was pulled. I have asked why I can't get the check back to sign the way they want me to, and she said she does not no. Now they are saying I have to get the account back to the positive or I can not get the check back. Does this sound right. What do I do?

Dale says:

March 15, 2009 11:51 pm

Small Business needs YOUR HELP TO STOP PREDATORY LENDING PRACTICES. Below is a company (representative of other small businesses) who has filed a complaint to the Federal Reserve in Washington, D. C. and St. Louis regarding Cass Commercial Bank in St. Louis, MO. I should tell you up front the Federal Reserve position is there is no mechanism for Small Business complaints, only consumer complaints. The Federal Reserve in St. Louis will send a Bank Examiner to review; however, with the backlog of complaints it is going to be months before the Federal Reserve will investigate. SMALL COMPANIES SUCH AS OURS DO NOT HAVE MONTHS! A Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) Certified Company US Government Central Contractor Registered February 12, 2009 Federal Reserve Board Attn: Bill Re: Cass Commercial Bank - FDIC Certificate number 1068 History: 1. 35 year relationship with Cass Bank, always on time payments. 2. November 2005, Cass Bank renews Line of Credit $450,000 at 6.75%; adds building as security in addition to Inventory and Receivables. 3. March 2007, Cass Bank completes annual renewal of Line of Credit $450,000 and increases interest rate from 6.75% to 9.25%. Cass Bank claimed bank examiners stated this loan is a “criticized loan”. (According to the Federal Reserve there is no such terminology.) Cass Bank required, Small Business Owner to subordinate an additional loan in amount of $165,000. 4. September 2007 Cass Bank says it does not intend to renew Building Loan in January 2008. 5. January 2008, Cass Bank renews $278,000 balance on Building Loan to 04-08-08 (avoiding reporting on FDIC March 31 Call Report) and increases interest rate from 6.25% to 8.5%. 6. March 2008, Cass Bank calls in $450,000 line of credit. 7. April 2008, Cass Bank demands payment of Building loan, institutes default rate of 12.5%. 8. May 2008, Cass Bank renews Building loan to 10-08-08 at 8.5%. 9. October 2008 Cass Bank calls building loan – Building appraised at $1,700,000 loan balance $263,000. 10. November 2008, Cass Bank institutes default rate of 12.5%. 11. November 2008, Cass Bank agrees to extension to January 1, 2009 (avoiding reporting on FDIC December 31 Call Report) and hikes interest rate from 8.5% to 10%. 12. January 2009, Cass Bank institutes default rate of 14%. 13. February 2009, offers to renew loan at 10% increasing principal payments from $3,387.14 per month including interest to $10,000 per month plus interest. 14. Small Business continues to make payments of $5,000 per month on the Building Loan. Complaint: 1. Small business has for many months sought financing with numerous financial institutions and continues to do so. 2. Small Company sells major surgical and research equipment. This equipment is high dollar. Cass Bank's action to refuse availability of a line of credit leave Small Business unable to finance equipment large purchases for customers and government contracts. 3. Our CPA firm has stated they have found financial institutions are calling in loans on good customers to shore up their reserves. Cass Bank’s position is that “the loan remains outside their acceptable parameters” further, exacerbating the financial crisis and the liquidity of our Company as a going concern. 4. Cass Bank has not provided their policies nor the parameters for the above statement. 5. Cass Bank is only granting renewal on a short-term basis. This constant wrangling with the Bank is counter-productive and takes our focus away from growing our business. 6. Cass Bank is giving very short deadlines for response – last one was an offer of $10,000 principal payments was received February 10 and response required by February 12. 7. Cass Bank’s position is unreasonable considering the ratio of the loan, $243,000, to the appraised value of the building, $1,700,000, a loan to value ratio of 14%. Expectations: 1. Continuation of Lines of Credit of $250,000 with competitive terms to support government contracts. 2. Renewal of the $243,000 Building loan at prime plus 2%, continuing the prior amortization of $3,387.14 per month until fully amortized in approximately January 2017. 3. Resolution of the term used by Cass Bank that the loan was a “criticized loan” according to Bank Examiners. (Federal Reserve in St. Louis has stated there is no such terminology.) 4. Provide the written policy/guidelines along with detail explanation “the loan remains outside their acceptable parameters”, per email from Cass Bank. Look forward to your assistance to resolve this matter. Sincerely Controller of Small Business

Travis says:

March 16, 2009 11:00 am

To Dale:

Both individuals and businesses are welcome to file consumer complaints with our office.