Bank Transfer Season 2012 Kicks Off in San Francisco

Bank Transfer Season is on. Yesterday, clergy in San Francisco announced plans to divest $10 million from Wells Fargo. 

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VICTORY: Responsible Banking Ordinance Passes in Kansas City

Last Wednesday, faith leaders with Communities Creating Opportunities, a PICO affiliate, pushed a Responsible Banking resolution through City Council, making good on a commitment made at CCO's October Opportunity Now!. Officials from both sides of the state line promised to support the passage of responsible banking ordinances.

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Arturo de los Santos Arrested as Review of 400 Recent Foreclosures Finds Widespread Bank Fraud; Flaws

Arturo de los Santos and his family, shortly before his arrest.

Arturo de los Santos and his family protested with 60 supporters from ACCE and Military Families Speak Out at Freddie Mac in Los Angeles yesterday, until arrests were made to clear the building. Chase wrongly foreclosed on the de los Santos family. Now, Freddie Mac owns the mortgage and will evict the family from their home anyday. You can read more about Art's story and take action to help the de los Santos family keep their home by clicking here. 

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Shelterforce Journal Offers Great Coverage of The New Bottom Line

Shelterforce, the journal of affordable housing and community building, has published a number of articles covering The New Bottom Line and our partners. We'll post new articles about The New Bottom Line as they are printed, but for now, check out this round-up of New Bottom Line coverage from Shelterforce!

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CitiGroup Board Member Gets a Surprise Visit From the 99%

Yesterday, representatives of the 99% delivered a letter to the home of Citi Group Board Member Anthony Santomero. The letter demands that Citi pay it's fair share in taxes and announces that leaders will be at the Citi shareholder meeting in the Spring to Confront Corporate Power! The action was organized by Action United and GRO Missouri.

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The New Bottom Line responds to President Obama’s “largest settlement” for homeowners: “It’s a paltry down payment”

For immediate release: February 9, 2012

Contact: Margot Friedman, New Bottom Line, at 202-332-5550 or mfriedman@dupontcirclecommunications.com

http://www.newbottomline.com  @NBLcampaign

Obama says this is just the start—but fails to hammer home his own federal investigation at press conference

 American people want $300 billion in principal reduction and accountability for bank crimes

In response to President Barack Obama’s press conference on today’s announcement of the settlement between big banks and the state Attorneys General, The New Bottom Line—a coalition of grassroots, people of faith, homeowners, and workers—declares that this settlement is only a “paltry down payment” and were dismayed by his lack of emphasis of his own federal investigation into big banks’ mortgage crimes. 

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Statement of The New Bottom Line on AG-Bank Mortgage Settlement Agreement

For immediate release: February 9, 2012

Contact: Margot Friedman, New Bottom Line, at 202-332-5550 or mfriedman@dupontcirclecommunications.com

http://www.newbottomline.com/@NBLcampaign

The mortgage fraud settlement being announced today is a tiny drop in a big bucket.  It does not do justice for the millions of homeowners who lost their homes or hold the banks fully accountable for their crimes.   For homeowners who were defrauded and lost their homes, $2,000 is too little, too late. It is a paltry down payment toward full relief for homeowners.

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The New Bottom Line Responds to AG-Bank Mortgage Settlement Agreement

The New Bottom Line has issued a statement in response to the AG-bank mortgage settlement. Check back soon for more in response to the settlement. 

The mortgage fraud settlement being announced today is a tiny drop in a big bucket.  It does not do justice for the millions of homeowners who lost their homes or hold the banks fully accountable for their crimes.   For homeowners who were defrauded and lost their homes, $2,000 is too little, too late.   It is a paltry down payment toward full relief for homeowners.

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Email Copy: Putting Abusive Corporations on Notice

Friend -- 

The 99% is coming to directly confront --and reclaim-- abusive corporate power.

Last week, homeowners, students, workers and more came together to send this message to executives at big banks like Bank of America and Wells Fargo, and companies like Sallie Mae and Verizon. We also let them know that thousands of 99%ers will be attending their annual shareholder meetings this Spring to make sure these corporations work to improve people's lives, not simply to profit off of us.

As the energy swells on the ground, make sure you are part of this amazing movement. Have you taken the pledge to Confront Corporate Power?

I'm ready to take the pledge to Confront Corporate Power.

I’ve already taken the pledge, but I can chip in $5 to help get 99%ers to shareholder meetings this Spring.

Last week, big banks from California to New York heard from us.¹ 

In Missouri, protesters delivered a letter to Bank of America and rallied outside, with great coverage on the evening news.

In Chicago, a number of community groups teamed up to protest Bank of America’s scheduled eviction of Rita Pope, whose home is being foreclosed upon despite qualifying for “hardest hit” federal assistance.

In New York, a group of new Bank of America shareholders delivered a letter to a Chase Vice President. Instead of meeting with the leaders, the bank called the police. On their own shareholders!

As part of the Confront Corporate Power movement, you’ll have the opportunity to participate in on-the-ground and online trainings and actions to publicly hold big banks accountable and make sure that corporations: 

• pay their fair share of taxes
• treat workers fairly
• provide principal reduction to protect homeowners
• pledge to keep money out of the election
• shift investments away from abusive private prisons and fossil fuels and into job creation and renewable energy

Take the pledge today.

I’ve already taken the pledge, but I can chip in $5 to help take back our democracy from companies like Bank of America.

Thanks so much for your action,

Ian, Tracy, Ilana, and The New Bottom Line coalition

Follow us anywhere. 
  

¹http://www.newbottomline.com/confront_corporate_power_actions_across_the_countr
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The New Bottom Line Blasts AG-Bank Mortgage Deal

For immediate release: February 3, 2012
Contact: Margot Friedman, New Bottom Line, at 202-332-5550 or mfriedman@dupontcirclecommunications.com
http://www.newbottomline.com/@NBLcampaign

The New Bottom Line Blasts Expected AG-Bank Mortgage Deal

(Chicago, Illinois) The proposed $25 billion settlement agreement between state Attorneys General and five big banks involved in the robo-signing scandal would encourage the banks to help homeowners who are in less need of assistance and provide little relief to the most troubled homeowners, according to news reports.

“What the country and the housing market needs is a bold and broad fix - not broad immunity for banks’ criminal behavior.  Any settlement that is just about robo-signing should only release claims on robo-signing and nothing more. It should fix the servicing system and it should provide real relief to struggling underwater homeowners and those who have lost their homes,” said George Goehl, Executive Director of National People’s Action and an organizational member of The New Bottom Line. “This slap on the wrist is a slap in the faces of the millions of people who have suffered because of the massive fraud perpetrated by big banks.”

“This fight is far from over. We will keep the heat on the Obama Administration’s Financial Fraud Task Force to conduct a full investigation of the banks for all aspects of the mortgage crisis and require the banks to pay in full for what they broke. Anything less than $300 billion in principal reduction for underwater homeowners and $50 billion in restitution for families who wrongfully lost their homes is completely unacceptable,” added Tracy Van Slyke, co-director of The New Bottom Line.

News reports about the proposed settlement agreement indicate that the banks will be encouraged to focus on less-troubled borrowers and allow illegal foreclosures to continue.  This approach will not end the mortgage crisis, which Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said this week was critical to improving the economy.

The expected agreement provides too much forgiveness for the banks that forged signatures on loan documents and illegally foreclosed on millions of families. The banks that acted wrongfully in the robo-signing scandal are Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Ally Financial.

$750 billion represents the true scope of the problem of negative equity. A minimum of $300 billion would cover owner occupied, underwater mortgages serviced by the five big banks at the settlement table and would also require the holders of the majority of home mortgages in the country, namely Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to finally come to the table for American homeowners and the broader economy.

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The New Bottom Line is a new and growing movement fueled by a coalition of community organizations, congregations, and individuals working together to challenge established big bank interests on behalf of struggling and middle-class communities. Together, we are working to restructure Wall Street to help American families build wealth, close the country’s growing income gap and advance a vision for how our economy can better serve the many rather than the few. Coalition members include PICO National Network, National People’s Action (NPA), Alliance for a Just Society, and dozens of state and local organizations from around the country.