Having sat in the boardroom during half a dozen bank mergers in the late nineties, I can assure you that you are incorrect. The government was adamant about making sure the CRA was part of every banks plan. If you did not play ball, you would lose the approval required to keep the business growing.
There are facts on paper- and there is the reality of the world. It is easy to say there were choices because the rules said there are. The reality is that the small banks that “choose” not to play ball are either still really small and limited, or they are out of business.
I understand your position. And yes the gov’t made this look like a win-win. Those who took the time to look beyond the glow, saw it for the scheme it was, but those individuals were few and far between. Only hind-sight is 20-20! So, to your point, you are correct.
But I am also correct, and this is where I am coming from.
There are always choices. Sometimes choosing right means choosing the losing position, but keeping integrity. That is what is wrong with society right now. We keep falling for the lie that there are degrees to right and wrong. In fact, choosing wrongly, is choosing to be not right. That’s all there is to it. Yes, hard to live at times, but always possible. Even for banks.
Watching this country go down the tubes on a bed of excuses and “it’s not my fault” is getting painful. We, WE ALL, have not safeguarded our society and now we are losing it. I’m tired of pretending that I haven’t noticed and that eventually everything will work out. No. It won’t. Not until WE ALL decide to be honest and truthful, instead of “parsing,” “walking back,” and “cherry picking.”
“Let your yea be yea.”