Protesters Rally Against Wells Fargo Foreclosures, Bank Responds: We’re A ‘Responsible Corporate Citizen
Protesters Rally Against Wells Fargo Foreclosures, Bank Responds: We’re A ‘Responsible Corporate Citizen’ | ThinkProgress ’
By Travis Waldron on Apr 24, 2012 at 5:10 pm
Clergy member holds up Wells Fargo share outside the bank’s shareholder meeting (via PICO National Network)
Hundreds of protesters, including religious leaders, union workers, and other 99 Percent Movement activists, gathered outside Wells Fargo’s shareholder meeting in San Francisco today, protesting the bank’s fraudulent foreclosure practices. Wells Fargo, the nation’s largest mortgage servicer, has a well-documented history of using fraudulent practices like robo-signing, and even more came to light last week when an insider account detailed the bank’s foreclosure unit as operating “exactly like an assembly line.”
Ahead of the protests, a Wells Fargo spokesperson told San Francisco’s ABC news affiliate that the bank has paid taxes and is a “responsible corporate citizen” that “makes an effort to keep people in their homes“:
Wells Fargo spokesman Ruben Pulido released a statement early this morning saying the bank is a “responsible corporate citizen” and paid $6 billion in taxes for 2011.
“Wells Fargo makes efforts to keep people in their homes,” Pulido said. “Over the past year, less than 2 percent of owner-occupied loans in our servicing portfolio have resulted in foreclosures.”
Wells Fargo was among 30 corporations that paid nothing in federal income taxes from 2008-2010 — its tax rate over that time period, in fact, was -1.4 percent. Adding 2011 to that time period just barely inches the bank’s rate into the positive.
The idea that Wells Fargo makes every attempt to keep homeowners in their homes, meanwhile, is laughable. The bank has been among the worst perpetrators of practices like robo-signing anddual tracking — the process of simultaneously offering homeowners loan modifications while also pushing them toward foreclosure. It has wrongly foreclosed on homes it didn’t own, and its victims may include thousands of members of the American military.
The initial protests drew roughly 500 people, according to early reports from a local NBC affiliate. Early marches through the city shut down numerous San Francisco streets and remained peaceful, according to NBC, though there have been arrests reported on Twitter. Later, there were more than a thousand protesters, according to other estimates, and clergy members and protesters who had purchased shares in Wells Fargo attempted to enter the meeting. Here are some picturesof the protest:
This isn’t the first time religious leaders or Occupiers have targeted Wells at its San Francisco headquarters. Local churches moved $10 million from the bank in February to protest its foreclosure practices, and they held Ash Wednesday services outside Wells Fargo asking it to repent for its wrongful practices.
Link to article: http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/04/24/470416/protesters-rally-against-wells-fargo-foreclosures-bank-responds-were-a-responsible-corporate-citizen/?mobile=nc
Occupy movement targets Wells Fargo meeting in San Francisco
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Occupy movement targets Wells Fargo meeting in San Francisco
By Kari Huus, msnbc.com
April 24, 2012, 2:24 pm
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MSN.com
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Several hundred protesters marched to the Wells Fargo Bank headquarters Tuesday in San Francisco and about 30 managed to gain access to the company’s annual shareholder meeting and disrupt proceedings, San Francisco Gate reported. About a dozen were escorted out of the 15th floor meeting by police.
Police in riot gear arrested six people involved in the protest, which focused anger on foreclosures, high executive compensation and low corporate taxes, Reuters reported.
Demonstrators carried a huge inflated rat with dollar bills coming from side pockets, and held signs that read: “99 percent take over, topple the 1 percent” — referring to the majority of the U.S. population and the 1 percent who make up the wealthiest Americans.
The demonstration is part of an attempt to revive the Occupy movement — though most protesters are no longer focused on occupation of public sites after being evicted from many encampments in the fall and winter.
The movement has been broadly focused on economic inequity, corporate greed and money-driven politics, and it plans more protests in the coming weeks, including against other large companies and the nation’s massive student debt.
Christie Smith / nbcbayarea.com
Protesters accuse Wells Fargo Bank of predatory lending and other practices that caused the financial crisis, during a protest on April 24.
“A tax dodger and predatory lender, Wells Fargo Bank has corrupted democracy by quadrupling spending on lobbying since they helped cause the financial crisis,” according to the web site for Occupy Wall Street, which advertised the event.
Police were stationed around the Merchant’s Exchange Building in the financial district in advance of the 1 p.m. meeting. Bank stockholders were asked to show certificates or other proof of ownership before being shepherded through the gates, The Associated Press reported.
Activists said that 30 shareholders who are protesters had entered the session, and intended to ask bank leaders for policy changes, including halting foreclosure proceedings against homeowners, San Francisco Gate reported.
The Occupy Wall Street web site lays out complaints against Wells Fargo, calling it “America’s biggest tax dodger” and blasting its continued foreclosures “on families in an economy it helped to ruin.”
The Occupy movement has staged numerous past protests against Wells Fargo. In February protesters delivered a mock foreclosure notice to the Russian Hill home of Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf. In Minneapolis in November, they turned up to protest Stumpf when he was scheduled for a speaking event.
Stumpf told the crowd in the Minnesota city that he ”gets” the frustration of the anti-Wall Street movement, according to a report in the Minneapolis Star Tribune and called for unity of the nation’s political parties, as well as “the 1 percent and the 99 percent,” to get through economic hard times.
Wells Fargo did not immediately return calls from msnbc.com seeking comment.
However, the company issued a statement in reaction to the protest, NBC Bay Area reported:
“Wells Fargo has helped more than 740,000 customers with loan modifications, and has forgiven $4.1 billion in principal since 2009,” it said. “The unfortunate reality is that some customers are in homes they cannot afford, even with substantially reduced payments. … When people are 60 days or longer past due, and they decide to work with us, we are able to provide an option that prevents foreclosure for 7 out of 10. Over the past year, less than 2 percent of owner-occupied loans in our servicing portfolio have resulted in foreclosures.”
According to the bank’s web site, Wells Fargo ranked fourth-largest among U.S. banks in terms of assets— $1.3 trillion — and first in market value of its stock as of Dec. 31.
Around the country, similar protests are planned to target major banks and other companies.
A group called 99% Power, an offshoot of the Occupy movement, said it plans actions at dozens of shareholder meetings, starting with Wells Fargo, and then on Wednesday at General Electric Co.s shareholder meeting in Detroit.
On campuses, activists are launching an “Occupy Student Debt” campaign, described as “a collective strategy of non-violent direct action to take back higher education and end our complicity with a predatory and unjust system.”
Occupy groups across the country also plan events for what they call an Occupy General Strike Day on May 1 to demand economic justice, during which they advocate “no work, no school, no housework, don’t bank, don’t buy.”
Watch The Video here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640
George Goehl, executive director of National People’s Action, talks with MSNBC’s Dylan Ratigan from San Francisco, where he was arrested for participating in a sit-in outside of the Wells Fargo shareholder’s meeting
Occupy the shareholder meetings!
Washington Post
By Suzy Khimm, Published: April 24
Even though their tents were cleared out of the parks this winter, the Occupy spirit has re-emerged with a vengeance this spring.
Across the country, and in some pockets overseas, there’s been growing pushback against excessive CEO pay, lending practices, and other major executive decisions at big banks’ annual shareholders meetings. Investors have spearheaded a lot of the revolt, alongside the anti-bank populists who’ve supported them.
Vikram Pandit, CEO of CitiGroup, (Mark Lennihan, AP)
Much of the major action is happening from the inside. UK fund manager Hermes–which represents a group of pensions and other investment funds–has launched a protest against Deutsche Bank’s executive compensation policies, lobbying other shareholders in the German bank to reject a resolution approving the board’s performance, the Financial Times reports.
This comes on the heels of a major shareholder revolt at Citigroup, where they voted down a $15 million pay package for CEO Vikram Pandit this month–with strong, surprising support with Citi’s employee-stockholders as well. Similar sentiments are bubbling to the surface at Wal-Mart and Verizon, where employee-shareholders also want more say on pay, as Gretchen Morgenson pointed out over the weekend.
Some of the action is also happening from the outside: Today in San Francisco, for example, a group of shareholders, together with other progressive activists, are scheduled to protest Wells Fargo’s annual shareholder meeting under the Occupy banner of “the 99 percent.” They’re uniting under a hodgepodge of demands that include everything from halting foreclosure proceedings and protesting predatory lending practices to divesting from private prisons.
Still, it may be a while yet before banks and other publicly held corporations embrace major reforms. Hermes, for instance, is lobbying to change a vote that’s non-binding. But it’s a reminder that the anti-bank populism that inspired the Occupy movement hasn’t dissipated; it was simply lying in wait for the next opportunity to surface.
© The Washington Post Company
Wells Fargo annual meeting drawing protesters
SAN FRANCISCO | Tue Apr 24, 2012 1:42pm EDT
(Reuters) – Activist groups say protesters plan to disrupt Wells Fargo & Co’s (WFC.N) annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday to vent their anger over foreclosures, executive compensation, corporate taxes and other issues.
Demonstrators plan to march to the site of the meeting near the bank’s headquarters in the financial district from a nearby park. Police were already a visible presence in the streets around the meeting site on Tuesday morning. The shareholders meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. PST (20:00 GMT)
“Banks are big and greedy,” said Julia Cheng, one of the protesters. “They only care about themselves.”
Demonstrators started gathering at the park on Tuesday morning, but it was not clear whether the event would draw as many protesters as organizers have said. There were more than 200 protesters carrying placards and supplies such as food and water. The peaceful gathering included Occupy Wall Street protesters from San Francisco and Oakland.
Looking to build on the energy of the Occupy movement, activist groups are targeting corporate stock holder meetings this spring to draw attention to economic disparity in the United States and to promote an assortment of other causes.
A group called 99% Power – a reference to those not among the top 1 percent of earners – has said it plans actions at 36 shareholder meetings, starting with Wells Fargo.
Wells Fargo has emerged as one of the healthier U.S. banks from the financial crisis and expanded across the United States after buying North Carolina-based Wachovia Corp in 2008.
The bank is the largest U.S. mortgage originator and servicer, making it a target for protesters who say lenders have treated struggling borrowers poorly. Wells was one of five big lenders to agree this year to a $25 billion national mortgage settlement over foreclosure abuses.
Wells Fargo spokesman Ancel Martinez said the bank works hard to keep homeowners in their homes and that fewer than 2 percent of its owner-occupied homes have gone into foreclosure over the past year.
At the shareholder meeting, stockholders will get a chance to ratify or reject the bank’s executive compensation plan and vote on a proposal to split the chairman and CEO roles held by John Stumpf. Last week, shareholders delivered a rebuke to Citigroup Inc’s (C.N) management when they gave a surprising vote of no confidence to the bank’s executive compensation plan.
(Reporting By Rick Rothacker in San Francisco; editing by Andre Grenon)
Protesters crash Wells Fargo shareholder meeting
By TERRY COLLINS, Associated Press – April 24
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Hundreds of Occupy Wall Street demonstrators from across the country descended on San Francisco Tuesday in an attempt to crash banking giant Wells Fargo’s annual shareholders meeting.
Several dozen people representing community groups had bought company stock and were allowed inside. Police said 24 people were arrested, including 15 for disrupting the meeting while inside the standing-room-only gathering of nearly 300 people.
Demonstrators outside the Merchant’s Exchange Building in the city’s bustling financial district waved signs and blocked the street while chanting, “We are the 99 percent! Let us in!”
Dozens of officers were stationed around the building in advance of the 1 p.m. meeting. Authorities said the demonstration saw only minor skirmishes between protesters and police.
Shareholder Erik Crew, 30, of Cincinnati, said he was arrested at the meeting shortly after one protester shouted that Wells Fargo should pay its fair share of corporate taxes. A group of women then said the bank should be ashamed of investing in private prisons and pleaded for a moratorium on home foreclosures, he said.
While the demonstration itself was a small win, Crew said, the real victory will come when the corporation actually divests from the aforementioned dealings.
“This is a public statement that raises awareness to hold Wells Fargo more accountable,” he said. “It’s going to take a lot more intervention from other entities who will threaten to pull their money out of Wells Fargo in order to claim victory.”
Shareholder William Brittendall, executive director of the Peace and Social Justice Center in Wichita, Kan., said Wells Fargo executives could not ignore them.
“The 99 percent is tired of always getting the fuzzy end of the lollipop,” Brittendall said. “They haven’t felt an impact like this before.”
Wells Fargo spokesman Ruben Pulido said the company respects the protesters’ right to gather, but it will work to keep its customers, employees and shareholders safe.
Among the two dozen demonstrators arrested, six people were taken into custody for trespassing, a misdemeanor, San Francisco police Sgt. Mike Andraychak said. Sheriff’s deputies arrested another three for resisting arrest, also a misdemeanor.
The demonstration saw some minor skirmishes, but Andraychak said organizers were cooperative.
“We believe they followed through with their stated objective, which was to have a peaceful protest,” he said.
Many stockholders arrived early and were asked to show certificates or letters of proxy before being corralled past gates erected in front of the doors.
Shareholder Mark Richmond, a member of the Portland-based group “We Are Oregon,” said he hoped he could voice his concerns specifically about predatory lending and home foreclosures.
“Oh, there’s going to be some action, all right. We’re very dissatisfied with Wells Fargo,” said Richmond, who works as a janitor at the Portland International Airport.
Angus Maguire, a spokesman for the Oregon group, said hundreds of shareholders representing groups from throughout California and as far away as New York made their presence felt whether they made it inside the meeting or not.
“The people were heard, loud and clear,” Maguire said.
During the protest, hundreds of union members, activists and clergy members chanted and blocked the street.
Ross Rhodes, 53, of San Francisco, clutched his proxy letter with the hopes he could plead with Wells Fargo to help save his family’s home of nearly 50 years from foreclosure.
The home care provider said he’s back on his feet after going through some hard times. But he said he wants to renegotiate with the banker so he can get a modified loan and a mortgage he can afford.
“I don’t want to lose my home. I need them to come back to the table and work with me so I can make good,” Rhodes said. “All I’m asking for is a fair shake. That’s all we’re asking for.”
Pulido, the Wells Fargo spokesman, defended the bank’s foreclosure policies, saying less than 2 percent of the loans Wells Fargo issued on owner-occupied properties had been foreclosed on.
“We work to keep people in their homes where there is affordability,” Pulido said. “Unfortunately some people have seen their incomes drastically reduced due to unemployment or underemployment.”
Copyright © 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
MAJOR DISRUPTIONS PLANNED AT WELLS FARGO AND GENERAL ELECTRIC SHAREHOLDER MEETINGS AS “THE 99% TAKE OVER”
For Immediate Release
Advisory for Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Contact:
Peter Cervantes-Gautschi: Info@enlaceintl.org 503-705-3343
Rose Arrieta: rose@cjjc.org 510-282-6737
Thousands to disrupt, at Wells Fargo and General Electric shareholder meeting to demand Wells Fargo and General Electric stop financing private prisons and start paying their fair share of taxes
Enlace as part of the New wave of 99% activism holding big corporations accountable to the public
San Francisco and Detroit – On Tuesday, April 24, and Wednesday, April 25, Enlace’s Private Prison Divestment Campaign will join thousands of people to confront Wells Fargo and GE executives at their annual shareholder meetings, to demand Wells Fargo and General Electric Executives address the concerns of the 99%.
Wells Fargo and General Electric directly make profit by incarcerating people from Immigrant communities. The prison business is one of human rights violations for profit. Numerous lawsuits have been filed against private prisons because of the abuse, rape, and wrongful deaths of people detained inside. The Geo Group (Geo) and the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) together own 80% of the for-profit prison beds in the United States. Among other demands, protesters will demand Wells Fargo and General Electric immediately stop doing financing the private prison industry.
The 99% activists include a diverse group of shareholders, homeowners facing foreclosure, immigrant rights activists, faith organizations and labor groups from around the country.
The Profit Motive of SB 1070: Press Conference Calling on Dennis DeConcini to Resign From CCA Board
For Immediate Release:
April 24, 2012,
On Tuesday, former Senator Dennis DeConcini will testify against SB1070 before the US Senate. But DeConcini is on the Board of Directors for Corrections Corporation of America, the nation’s largest private prison corporation, which manages immigrant detention centers across the US, including several here in Arizona.
CCA and other private prison corporations stand to profit handsomely if SB1070 is allowed to become law. And DeConcini would share in that prosperity—his shares in CCA are currently worth $267,000.
Join Tucson’s Fuerza! Coalition this Tuesday, April 24th at a press conference and vigil outside DeConcini’s law firm in Tucson to call attention to the connections between anti-immigrant legislation and prison industry profiteering.
Tell DeConcini he can’t wag his finger at SB1070 while his other hand holds hundreds of thousands of dollars from the criminalization of immigrants. It’s time for him to choose a side: Community or Corporation?
Minnesota’s Virtual March on Wells Fargo
Minnesota’s Virtual March on Wells Fargo Posted by MNFairEconomy.org on April 22, 2012
We’re proud of our delegation from Minnesota traveling to San Francisco to attend the Wells Fargo shareholders meeting on Tuesday, April 24. As part of the 99% Spring, they will be joining concerned citizens from throughout the country calling on the bank to pay its fair share and to stop hurting our communities by lobbying for the interests of the 1%.
Check out some of our friends and neighbors who are making the trip, listed below.
Here in Minnesota, we’ll stand in solidarity with those traveling west by holding a virtual march on Wells Fargo.
CITIES ACROSS COUNTRY TO PROTEST SB1070, CALL FOR FEDERAL AND LOCAL OFFICIALS TO REJECT “ARIZONIFICATION” AS SUPREME COURT HEARS SB1070 DOJ CASE IN WASHINGTON
Events in Phoenix, Elsewhere Protest SB1070 and Similar Federal Deportation Programs
April 23, 2012. Phoenix, AZ.
Groups across the country are preparing for the Supreme Court hearing of the Department of Justice’s suit against SB1070 on Wednesday. The Arizona bill passed in 2010 made the state synonymous with racial profiling and marred its reputation as a ‘capitol of prejudice.’ While the majority of the bill has been enjoined and has yet to go into effect, Arizona communities and local groups in other states claim to be experiencing the bills intent, “attrition through enforcement,” as a result of similar federal immigration policies.
On Wednesday the 25th, events will be held in cities across the country to call on the Supreme Court to strike down SB1070 and call on the federal government to terminate similar federal deportation programs, such as the failed “Secure Communities” program, that enlist local law enforcement as “force multipliers” in immigration law. In multiple cities, groups are pushing for local solutions that restore trust in law enforcement that has been eroded by immigration policies.
“Neither state laws nor the federal government can enlist our local law enforcement in the dirty work of deportation,” explains Sarahí Uribe of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. “As the Supreme Court hears the Department of Justice’s suit against SB1070, all of our cities are faced with the responsibility to show that we will not be another Arizona. Most cities understand our families belong together, it’s police and ICE that should be separated.”
Huff Post: Ninety-Nine Percent Power: Activists Ready To Crash Wells Fargo, General Electric Shareholder Meetings
4/23/12
Ninety-Nine Percent Power: Activists Ready To Crash Wells Fargo, General Electric Shareholder Meetings
By Huffington Post
WASHINGTON — Last fall, the Occupy Wall Street movement ignited a national conversation on income inequality, corporate ties to conservative legislation and the culpability of banks in the foreclosure crisis. Now, a broad coalition of unions and progressive organizations is launching a massive, coordinated wave of protests aimed at the country’s biggest brand names and Fortune 500 companies.
Calling this new phase 99 Percent Power, organizers tell The Huffington Post that they have planned more than 200 actions over the next few months in cities nationwide. Tuesday, supporters are gathering in San Francisco to protest Wells Fargo’s shareholder meeting. On Wednesday, they are targeting General Electric’s shareholder meeting in Detroit.
National People’s Action director BUSTED during Occupy Wells Fargo action in Iowa
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 23, 2012
Contact: Hugh Espey
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, 515.282.0484 hugh@iowacci.org
Family farmer, Methodist Minister, Vietnam veteran among group of 10 CCI members arrested at Wells Fargo’s Des Moines office during civil disobedience sit-in to demand big bank put everyday people before corporate profits
Des Moines, IA –
National People’s Action (NPA) director George Goehl was arrested alongside nine other members of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (Iowa CCI) Monday afternoon during a direct action street protest at a Wells Fargo office in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, just one day before a Wells Fargo shareholders’ meeting in San Francisco, California is expected to draw thousands of demonstrators.
Dozens of protesters entered Wells Fargo’s downtown Des Moines offices and refused to leave until CEO John Stumpf agreed to give the 99% Power coalition 1 hour of time during the shareholders’ meeting agenda in San Francisco Tuesday to present their grievances to big bank officials.
Read more 
Politically Active Ztudents Ask The Auraria Board of Directors to cut ties with Wells Fargo
Sign and Share the Petition by clicking on the following link: Change.org Auraria Board of Directors Petition
Why This Is Important:
To: The Auraria Board of Directors, Metropolitan State College of Denver, University of Colorado Denver, Community College of Denver
Ask: We ask that all governing, decision making bodies, and institutions on Auraria campus cut all ties, partnerships, economic etc. and ban Wells Fargo from campus, and issue a public denouncement of Wells Fargo’s profiteering from the private prison industry.
The pledge letter below was created as the means by which Politically Active Ztudents will show to The Auraria Board of Directors, Metropolitan State College of Denver, University of Colorado Denver, and the Community College of Denver, that the students and community members of Auraria campus are concerned about the increased criminalization of immigrants and the corporations which profit of off the pain and suffering of human beings.
Ninety-Nine Percent Spring and Confronting Corporate Power
Friday, 06 April 2012 13:36
By George Goehl, Truthout | Op-Ed
At this moment, we face an incredible choice. We can fight to win back the economy we had before the financial crisis. Or, we can allow ourselves to reimagine what’s possible.
If we limit our vision because times are grim, we’ve already lost. Now is the time to march toward transforming our economy so it more fully serves the mental, physical and spiritual well-being of all of us and protects the planet for future generations.
For us to truly reorganize our economy, we have to challenge those that most benefit from the current structure – big and abusive corporations that consistently violate values of fairness, human dignity and conservation. To challenge institutions the size of Bank of America, Walmart, Wells Fargo, Verizon, Chevron, Hyatt, and others, we know we can’t do it alone. The good news is we don’t have to.
CCA GO AWAY from South Florida! Sign Petition!
It’s time for ICE to cancel CCA’s proposed immigration detention center in Southwest Ranches, FL!
ICE and Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) plan to build a massive immigration detention center in the Town of Southwest Ranches, just 30 minutes from Miami, FL. With 1,500 beds, this prison will be one of the largest in the country.
Since it hit the news last summer, immigrant rights’ advocates, residents and even environmentalists in South Florida, have voiced a strong and growing opposition against this new facility. The community has called on U.S. Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-20) to withdraw their current endorsements for CCA’s project. The controversy has grown to the point that the neighboring City of Pembroke Pines cut off the water that CCA needs for this development.
The will of the people has fallen on deaf ears. ICE, CCA and the Town of Southwest Ranches keep moving forward with the project.
Help us put the FREEZE on ICE and tell CCA to GO AWAY! SIGN PETITION Read more
