By Matthew Freeman and Luca Waggoner
Despite touting a reputation of serving the Cleveland community and communities across Ohio, KeyBank’s practices have been racist and discriminatory in practice. Headquartered in the city of Cleveland, which has a Black population of nearly 46%, KeyBank has been proven to engage in systemic redlining and avoidance of Black and low-and-moderate income (LMI) borrowers. In 2016, KeyBank acquired First Niagara Bank with the promise to emphasize serving LMI communities. Contradictory to this commitment, KeyBank actively profited off of the acquisition of First Niagara and increased dividend payments for shareholders, all while continuing to neglect LMI neighborhoods. The National Community Reinvestment Coalition found that KeyBank went from concerningly low loan rates to Black borrowers, to the worst mortgage lender for Black borrowers in the country. In an industry of mortgaging that neglects and discriminates against Black borrowers, KeyBank performs exceptionally poorly.
In Cleveland, KeyBank’s racial and economic discriminatory practices have been a concern amongst community members, housing advocates, and council members. As of 2021, KeyBank engaged in very low levels of lending in Cleveland neighborhoods with larger Black populations. Furthermore, according to a report in 2017 by Western Reserve Land Conservancy, KeyBank had a 9% higher home purchase rejection rate for Black applicants than White applicants in Cuyahoga County. Even when accounting for income, KeyBank has been reported to reject high-income Black applicants at a higher rate than low-income White applicants.
KeyBank’s proven redlining practices and racist lending policies are even more concerning given the bank’s failure to release its own results of equity investigations. Following pressure to align with its commitments of engagement in LMI communities, KeyBank decided to commission an external, third party racial equity audit, only to refuse to release the results of the investigation. This withholding of crucial data stands as yet another promise that KeyBank has broken to the communities it claims to represent. Despite KeyBank’s pledges to sufficiently improve their negligible investments in LMI neighborhoods, the data is clear. KeyBank continues to neglect to adequately invest in Black, low income, and local communities, all while maximizing profits and benefits for its own shareholders and investors.
Beyond just its negative impacts on Cleveland, KeyBank’s investments have aided in bloodshed and genocide in the MENA region. KeyBank already had 15 million dollars invested in Israel Bonds prior to October 7th, 2023. KeyBank has had a relationship with the Israel Bonds program for over 35 years. After Israel initiated its genocidal response to the liberatory actions of the Palestinian resistance, KeyBank chose to double its investment, bumping up its portfolio’s holdings to 30 million dollars in Israel Bonds. Israel Bonds are not neutral investments–they directly fund the formation of illegal settlements across Palestine and the bombs being dropped on Palestinians.
KeyBank has also helped facilitate the financing for Bel Fuse Inc.’s acquisition of a majority stock in Enercon Technologies Ltd., an Israeli military weapons manufacturer who produces power sources for drones and other weapons of war. Enercon maintains deep ties with countless defense contractors.
Through its material support for Enercon, KeyBank has openly contributed to the spread of war and bloodshed across Asia. In Kashmir, drone “debris bearing markings from Enercon Technologies” was discovered.
Regardless of any philanthropic endeavors KeyBank receives attention for, its impacts are clearly bad for Cleveland and bad for the world, through its engagement in racist lending and fueling of genocide and bloodshed in countless countries.