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CLEVELAND--About 15 members of the East Cleveland Organizing Project paid a visit to Firstar Bank on March 25 to get some simple information.

What they wanted was to learn where Firstar, one of only two banks in East Cleveland, makes its loans. For the last quarter-century, groups have been required to maintain this information and release it to the public upon request under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, HMDA.

Armed with information about how to use HMDA and the Community Reinvestment Act, the federal anti-redlining law, residents went to the bank and spoke with Karen Jackson, personal banking manager for the branch at the corner of Foresthills and Euclid.

"It was kind of funny," group leader Gloria Lavert said afterward. "At first she didn't even know what we were talking about and referred us to the bank's CRA statement." The statement said the bank encouraged community involvement in its lending and banking activities. "We reminded Ms. Jackson of that," Lavert added, "and Jackson told us, 'We didn't mean it!'"

Residents did eventually receive the information they demanded and are reviewing it to determine areas where Firstar may need to improve its lending.

"Ever since we asked for the data, Firstar has been very anxious to meet with us," Lavert said. The group hopes to use the information to leverage a CRA agreement for their community.