Originally published February 23 2006
Financial company denies loans to eminent domain developers
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Financial holding company BB&T, one of the largest in the nation, has announced it will not give loans to developers who intend on building private projects on lands acquired through eminent domain, calling the concept of eminent domain "misguided" and "plain wrong."
BB&T, the nation's ninth-largest financial holding company, announced yesterday that it would deny loans to developers building shopping malls and other private projects on land acquired through eminent domain.
BB&T is believed to be the first bank to have made public such a policy in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling last June that set off a firestorm across the nation and led to bills in Congress and in more than two dozen states.
The decision upheld the right of officials in New London, Conn., to condemn homes and businesses to increase the tax base of one of the state's poorest cities.
W. Kendall Chalk, an officer for the bank, described the move in a telephone interview as more a matter of principle than a decision with practical consequences for the bank.
He said the bank recently turned down a loan for a private project that would have involved the forced sale of unoccupied land but that such loan requests had been rare.
"Historically, eminent domain has been used very judiciously in the states in which we operate," he said, adding that its use had generally been limited to roads and other public-works projects.
He said the bank did not operate in Louisiana, where eminent domain is likely to be used in the rebuilding of New Orleans.
But in the bank's view, Mr. Chalk said, the Supreme Court "opened the door wider," making broader use of condemnation powers more likely.
"It's going to set an example and encourage other banks and hopefully developers to say they will not take advantage of the government's power of eminent domain to force people out of their homes and businesses," said Dana Berliner.
"It's curious that a major financial institution would choose to be both judge and jury," she said.
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