Bank of America justifies bankrolling predatory payday lenders
1/10/12
Over the last several months, we’ve been putting pressure on Bank of America to stop financing one of the greatest wealth-stripping schemes of our time: payday lending.
Just a few weeks ago, we received a letter from Bank of America with this response:
[Bank of America] regards payday lending as a strongly discouraged industry and we do not actively prospect for payday lenders.…[but] we bank a very small portfolio of payday lenders which have good compliance, consumer disclosure and collections practices
Policy Updates: Nov 1-15
11/21/11
Foreclosures:
The OCC and to a lesser extent the Federal Reserve, has started up the work on their "consent orders" with the big bank loan servicers. This is in response to the rob-signing scandal. They were initially working with the AG's and the DOJ, but broke off and did their own semi-settlement with the banks that resulted in this. The process is pretty non-transparent and it's hard to say what's really going to happen as the OCC is refusing to tell anyone (even Congress) what they're doing.Rediscovering Civil Disobedience
10/17/11
There comes a time when silence becomes betrayal,” proclaimed Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as he took a risk and spoke out forcefully against the War in Vietnam.
Policy Updates: Sept 5-9
9/9/11
The Numbers
Congress approval at all time low: 13%Obama approval at all time low: 38%
Food stamp recipients at an all time high in May: 45.8 Million
Number of jobs created in August: 0. First time since WWII we’ve hit 0.
Number of bank executives prosecuted, indicted or imprisoned due to fraud: Zero
Approx number of homeowners or individual brokers prosecuted, indicted or imprisoned for mortgage fraud: 31…in the last 3 weeks.
An Open Letter to Congress
8/4/11
We are writing on behalf of our organizations to express our concern about press reports that lobbyists and wealthy corporate interests are preparing to spend significant amounts of money to influence the work of the 12 members of United States Congress soon to be appointed to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction.
Policy Updates: July 25-29
7/25/11
The Numbers:
The Misery Index = 12.8%, which is a relatively unscientific look at how American’s are faring is at its highest level in 28 years.Deportations for 2010 = 393,000 reported at the end of the fiscal year (Sept 2010) are at their highest level ever, with the Obama Administration deporting nearly 400,000 human beings.
Where's the relief for homeowners?? Our response to BofA's $8.5 billion settlement with investors
6/30/11
Reports are coming in that Bank of America has reached an $8.5 billion settlement with a group of investors who had purchased what they thought were AAA grade investments, but were actually near worthless mortgage-backed securities. Help for Unemployed Homeowners Is On Its Way!
6/23/11
This week, homeowners in 33 states will be able to begin applying for a new $1 billion federal loan program to help those who are in danger of losing their homes due to involuntary unemployment or underemployment.
PICO National Network helped lead the fight to win this new program – the Emergency Homeowner Loan Program – and has been working hard to get it up and running as quickly as possible. Now, we want to make sure that as many borrowers as possible receive assistance.
