Category Archives: us-bank

Occupy the Banks for Housing Justice on April 27, 2013

Posted on by
1

IMG_3484_1Foreclosure and Eviction Fighters took the struggle for housing justice to the Mission neighborhood in San Francisco on April 27, 2013, with an Occupy the Banks for Housing Justice bank crawl.

The crowd visited the Bank of America branch near 29th and Mission Streets, the JP Morgan Chase branch at 26th and Mission Streets, the Bank of America branch at 23rd and Mission Streets, the US Bank branch at 22nd and Mission Streets, and the Wells Fargo branch at 22nd and Missions Streets.

At each branch, Foreclosure and Eviction Fighters delivered a letter to be faxed to bank executives. The group leafleted the Mission in Spanish and English.

Many thanks to the Brass Liberation Orchestra which provided festive music for the event and to Reverend Billy and the Stop Bank of America Gospel Choir (aka Stop Shopping Choir) visiting from New York City who joined up with us at the second Bank of America branch.

A23 Wells Fargo Shareholder Meeting Protests Draw Hundreds of Protestors, Demand Housing Justice

Posted on by
Reply

IMG_3112_1A protest at the Wells Fargo headquarters at 420 Montgomery Street in San Francisco took place on April 13, 2013, in coordination with a protest earlier the same day at the Wells Fargo Shareholder meeting held in Salt Lake City, Utah. These protests are a special edition of the Occupy Wells Fargo Vigil to Stop Evictions.

More than a dozen protestors from the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) and other organizations infiltrated the shareholders meeting and told Wells Fargo executives what they thought of their practices regarding predatory, illegal, and discriminatory lending and related foreclosures and evictions. Maria Alvarez, whose family is facing eviction by Wells Fargo, got to tell Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf to his face that he is a liar, then Wells threw the protestors out of the shareholders meeting.

IMG_3134_1Meanwhile, in San Francisco, about one hundred protestors from the ACCE (San Francisco and Oakland), Occupy Bernal, Occupy Noe, and the Occupy the Auctions and Evictions campaign held a memorial service in front of the Wells Fargo Headquarters and History Museum at 420 Montgomery Street. A trumpeter named Elaine played taps and Archbishop Franzo King delighted participants with his saxophone stylings. Various spokespeople read out the names of those who have lost their home or their lives to foreclosures and evictions, spoke in solidarity with those protesting in Salt Lake City, and listed off the many families still struggling to save their homes from Wells Fargo. After each name or section, the crowd chanted repeatedly, “Housing Justice, Home Security!”. Finally, Kathy Lipscomb and Merrie Jo Musni delivered some calalilies to Wells Fargo to complete the memorial service.

Links: Media Coverage    Videos of Wells Fargo Protest in Salt Lake City    Videos of Wells Fargo Protest in San Francisco   Photos of Wells Fargo Protest    Videos of Union Bank Protest    Photos of Union Bank Protest

Media Coverage

ABC 4: http://www.abc4.com/content/news/slc/story/Protestors-travel-to-SLC-to-rally-at-Wells-Fargos/bxvrOQVRw0ySHLv5QpLKXA.cspx

Associated Press: http://www.ctpost.com/news/crime/article/Demonstrators-disrupt-Wells-Fargo-meeting-in-Utah-4456961.php

Charlotte Business Journal: http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/blog/bank_notes/2013/04/protesters-interrupt-wells-fargo.html

Deseret News: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/print/865578855/Protestors-target-Wells-Fargo-annual-meeting.html

Getty Images: http://www.google.com/hostednews/getty/article/ALeqM5gRHE2aisbbNKB1X2Aq31hpdgV86A?docId=167277289

Philadelphia Business Journal: http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/blog/jeff-blumenthal/2013/04/big-banks-met-with-protest-at-annual.html

Salt Lake Tribune: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/money/56197313-79/wells-fargo-meeting-bank.html.csp

San Francisco Bay Guardian: http://www.sfbg.com/print/politics/2013/04/23/wells-fargo-foreclosure-fighters-they%E2%80%99re-baaaack

San Francisco Business Times: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2013/04/protesters-hit-wells-fargo-annual.html?page=all

Videos of Wells Fargo Protest in Salt Lake City

Videos of Wells Fargo Protest in San Francisco

Photos of Wells Fargo Protest

Then, the group broke up with some people going on to protest an eviction by Union Bank at a branch nearby.

Videos of Union Bank Protest

Photos of Union Bank Protest

Dear Wells Fargo, Thanks for All the Foreclosures!

Posted on by
Reply

Wells Fargo Bank remains #1 in foreclosures in San Francisco with more than double the foreclosure auctions (92 auctions) scheduled than #2 forecloser JP Morgan Chase (44 auctions) and #3 forecloser Bank of America (43 auctions) to sell off family’s homes this holiday season.

One indicator of trends in foreclosures is the situation with bank preforeclosures (properties in default with no foreclosure auction date yet set). Wells Fargo is #1 in San Francisco in preforeclosures (77 homes) with JP Morgan Chase at #2 (54 homes) and Bank of America #3 (24 homes).

For current bank-owned (REO) properties in San Francisco since July 25, 2012, JP Morgan Chase is #1 in San Francisco REOs (11 properties), Wells Fargo is #2 (9 properties), and Bank of America and US Bank are tied for #3 (7 properties each).

Top Ten Data

The top 10 lenders by number of foreclosure auctions scheduled in San Francisco as of November 17, 2012 (source Foreclosure Radar, aggregated by corporate empire):

Rank Lender Auctions Scheduled
1 WELLS FARGO BANK N A 92
2 JP MORGAN CHASE BANK N A 44
3 BANK OF AMERICA N A 43
4 THE BANK OF NEW YORK TRUST CO 31
5 US BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION 28
6 NATIONSTAR 16
7 DEUTSCHE BK NATL TRUST CO TR 11
8 CITIBANK N A 10
9 HSBC BANK USA N A 8
10 (tie) OCWEN LOAN SERVICING LLC 5
10 (tie) MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION 5

The top 10 lenders by number of foreclosure auctions scheduled in San Francisco as of November 17, 2012 (source Foreclosure Radar, aggregated by corporate empire):

Rank Lender Auctions Scheduled
1 WELLS FARGO BANK N A 77
2 JP MORGAN CHASE BANK N A 54
3 BANK OF AMERICA N A 24
4 DEUTSCHE BK NATL TRUST CO TR 18
5 US BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION 16
6 THE BANK OF NEW YORK TRUST CO 15
7 CITIMORTGAGE 10
8 (tie) EAST-WEST BANK 10
8 (tie) ONEWEST BANK FSB 6
9 OCWEN LOAN SERVICING LLC 5

The top 10 lenders by number of bank-owned properties in San Francisco as from July 25, 2012, to November 17, 2012 (source Foreclosure Radar, aggregated by corporate empire):

Rank Lender Auctions Scheduled
1 JP MORGAN CHASE BANK N A 11
2 WELLS FARGO BANK N A 9
3 (tie) US BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION 7
3 (tie) BANK OF AMERICA N A 7
4 (tie) NATIONSTAR 4
4 (tie) CITIBANK N A 4
5 DEUTSCHE BK NATL TRUST CO TR 3
6 (tie) ING BANK, FSB 2
6 (tie) ONEWEST BANK FSB 2
6 (tie) THE BANK OF NEW YORK TRUST CO 2
6 (tie) VERICREST FINANCIAL, INC 2

September 6 at the Auctions

Posted on by
Reply

On September 6, 2012, auctions sold two family’s homes in San Francisco: Cal Agent Services auctioneer Steve Neil sold 2479 Diamond St. (lender Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC) to Jeff Berger and FEI Services auctioneer Darius sold 224 Argonaut Ave. back to the bank, that is to US Bank, despite yelling and loud music in protest.

Victory for Three Families Facing Eviction

Posted on by
Reply

Causa Justa : Just Cause reports on the victory of three families facing eviction by U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo:

Link: Victory for Three Families Facing Eviction
kids_vs_us_bank

It seems public outcry and bad press shamed US Bank and Wells Fargo into dropping attempts to evict three families in the Excelsior. They took the eviction action off the court calendar, giving some breathing room to three Latina moms and their children living in the Excelsior district. It took two housing rights organizations with over 25 years of experience shared between them: CJJC and the Housing Rights Committee, several weeks to unravel a tangle of bureaucracy and find out exactly WHO and WHAT bank was actually responsible since they both kept pointing the finger at each other!After tons of calls to many different people at both banks, we finally found out that US Bank hired Wells Fargo to service the property.

The servicer, Wells Fargo just confirmed this week in a meeting with Causa Justa :: Just Cause and the Housing Rights Committee that they will
•    Not evict the families;
•    Pay all utilities;
•    And make repairs to the units.

We told you about these families last month when we gathered in front of US Bank on 16th & Mission Streets for a press conference to stop their eviction. You can read media stories about it here… here and here

So all in all, we are thrilled with the outcome of this case, but also painfully aware that it took mass mobilization, community collaboration, and pressure to find out even the simplest information, such as who now oversees the property.

This case exemplifies the struggles that many tenants living in foreclosed properties face daily not only here in the Bay Area, but across the state and nationally.These families are the face of the hidden victims of the foreclosure crisis and their struggle shows that when banks take over possession of foreclosed properties they very often violate tenant’s rights.

Now more than ever we need to hold banks such as US Bank and Wells Fargo accountable to local, state, and federal protections for tenants to avoid further displacement.

These families suffered through fighting an unjust eviction proceeding, facing the anxiety of possible utility shut –off, all the while not knowing who to turn to in order to maintain the property in habitable condition. If the bank admits that they are the present owner and by their documents have the power to evict or demand rent payment, then they and only they can be responsible for maintaining the property.

kids_vs_banks4

These mothers and their children who were brave enough to share their story so that it would be known widely and who were not afraid to confront not one but two banks are a true inspiration! Now as members of CJJC they will continue to share their story and hope to help other tenants who live in foreclosed properties and face similar abuses.

Bank Management

Posted on by
Reply

Bank Management are people who have the power to make or influence decisions of the banks to evict our neighbors from their homes, foreclose on their homes, and/or sell their homes at foreclosure auctions due to predatory or for-profit mortgage loans.

Bank Conglomerates

Ally

Owner of bankrupt GMAC Mortgage home loan corporation. Headquarters in Detroit, Michigan.

Bank of America

Headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina. Acquired Countrywide.

Citigroup

Headquarters in New York, New York.

Fannie Mae

The Federal National Mortgage Association, nicknamed “Fannie Mae”, is a government sponsored enterprise (GSE) designed to facilitate a secondary market, or “securitization” of mortgage loans. The U.S. government, specifically the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), took over Freddie Mac, along with Fannie Mae, on September 7, 2008, and the U.S. Treasury has pumped billions into purchases of Freddie Mac stock to prop up the enterprise. Headquarters in Washington, D.C..

  • Timothy J Mayopoulos, CEO, +1 202-752-7000 (and +1 877-753-0562?)

Freddie Mac

The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, nicknamed “Freddie Mac”, is a government sponsored enterprise (GSE) designed to facilitate a secondary market, or “securitization” of mortgage loans. The U.S. government, specifically the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), took over Freddie Mac, along with Fannie Mae, on September 7, 2008, and the U.S. Treasury has pumped billions into purchases of Freddie Mac stock to prop up the enterprise. Headquarters at 8000-8250 Jones Branch Drive in McLean, Virginia, tel. +1 800-424-5401. Website at www.freddiemac.com.

JP Morgan Chase

Headquarters in New York, New York, and biggest U.S. lender by assets.

Nationstar

Acquired Aurora mortgage loans. Fortress Investment Group owns 77% of Nationstar. Headquarters at 350 Highland Drive in Lewisville, Texas (outside Dallas). Tel: +1 469-549-2000. Web: www.nationstarmtg.com

PNC Bank

Headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

  • James E. Rohr, CEO, +1 412-762-2294 (may transfer to Executive Complaint Office voicemail) or 412-963-6133 (home), james.e.rohr@pnc.com or james.rohr@pnc.com
  • William Demchak, President, at +1 917-348-1173 (cell)
  • Thomas Hyland, Senior Vice President, at +1 212-527-3938
  • Frederick Solomon, Vice President of Corporate Communications, at +1 412-762-7544

Select Portfolio Servicing

Wells Fargo

Headquarters in San Francisco, California. Largest U.S. mortgage servicer and lender. Acquired America’s Servicing Company, Wachovia, and World Savings.

Links: Wells Fargo Loan Modification Policies (internal documents)    “Responsible Lending” Practices    “Help” for Homeowners

  • John Stumpf, CEO, +1 866-878-5865 or for America’s Servicing use +1 301-815-3510, john.g.stumpf@wellsfargo.com
  • Board of Directors, BoardCommunications@wellsfargo.com:
    • John D. Baker II, Exec. Chairman, Director of Patriot Transportation Holding, Address 1:, 192 Sea Hammock Way, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082, +1 (904) 543-8196, and Address 2:, 501 Riverside Ave, Jacksonville, FL 32202. Company contact info: Patriot Transportation Holding, Inc, 501 Riverside Ave., Ste 500, Jacksonville, FL 32202, +1 (877) 704-1776, jmilton@patriottrans.com
    • Elaine Chao, 217 C St NE, Washington, DC 20002, +1 (202) 543-7063 or +1 (202) 543-7063, At Heritage Foundation:. Email: staff@heritage.org with Subject line: “To Elaine Chao”, Media information line: +1 (
202) 675-1761
    • John Chen, CEO of Sybase (locally based), Sybase contact info: Sybase iAnywhere, A subsidiary of Sybase
, One Sybase Drive
Dublin, CA 94568, 
Phone: +1 (519) 883-6898, 
Toll Free: 1-800-SYBASE5 (792.2735)
, Email: contact_us@ianywhere.com, jchen@sybase.com?, John.chen@sybase.com?
    • Lloyd H. Dean, CEO of Dignity Health, formerly Catholic Healthcare West,
      CHW info: 185 Berry Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, CA 94107, +1 (415) 438-5500, Contact form: http://www.chwhealth.org/Who_We_Are/Contact_Us/index.htm, @dignityhealth.com?
    • Susan E. Engel, CEO, Portero, Inc, Portero contact info: 28 Kaysal Court, Suite 1, Armonk, NY 10504-1378, United States, Phone: +1 (914) 730-0208, www.portero.com
    • 120 75th St, New York, NY 10021, (952) 824-6438, (212) 734-1449
    • Enrique Hernandez, Jr., Chairman, CEO of Inter-Con Security Systems, Inc.
    • Donald M. James, Chairman, CEO of Vulcan Materials Company, +1 (205) 298-3000, jamesd@vmcmail.com?
    • Mackey J. McDonald. Retired Chairman, VF Corporation
    • Nicholas G. Moore, Retired Global Chairmam of Pricewaterhouse Coopers
    • Federico F. Peña, Senior Advisor, Vestar Capital Partners, Seventeenth Street Plaza, 1225 17th Stre
      et, Suite 1660, Denver, CO 80202, +1 (303) 292-6300
    • Philip J. Quigley, Retired Chairman, President, CEO, of Pacific Telesis Group
    • Judith M. Runstad, Of Counsel, Foster Pepper PLLC, 206-447-8897 (Seattle), runsj@foster.com
    • Stephen W. Sanger, Retired Chairman of General Mills, Inc.
    • Susan G. Swenson, Retired President and CEO of Sage Software, Inc.
  • Patricia Callahan, Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, +1 800-869-3557, Pat.Callahan@wellsfargo.com
  • Avid Modjtabai, Senior Executive Vice President, Consumer Lending, +1 800-869-3557, Avid.Modjtabai@wellsfargo.com
  • James Strother, Senior Executive Vice President, General Counsel Legal Group, +1 415-396-1793, James.Strother@wellsfargo.com
  • Ruben Pulido, Asst. Vice President, Communications, ruben.pulido@wellsfargo.com
  • Diana Stauffer, Senior VP Regional Servicing Director, +1 (925) 552-4347 (disconnected), diana.stauffer@wellsfargo.com (email undeliverable)
  • Tom Goyda, spokesperson
  • Alfredo Pedroza, Director California Local Government Relations, 415-396-0829, alfredo.pedroza@wellsfargo.com

Links: Add Bank Management to List

Tenants Rights Organizations Defend Renters Facing Foreclosure Eviction

Posted on by
Reply

Groups including Causa Justa / Just Cause, the Coalition on Homelessness and the Housing Rights Committee, protested at the US Bank branch at 16th St and Mission St to prevent US Bank and Wells Fargo from illegally evicting three single mothers and their children renting an Excelsior home.

It’s important for tenants to know their rights under the law and to seek help if a landlord or a bank tells them they have to move out. Renters facing evictions can contact the Housing Rights Committee of SF, Causa Justa / Just Cause, or the SF Tenants Union for counseling on their rights.

Link: Video Thanks to Bill Carpenter

Feel free to republish photos below with attribution to OccupyEvictions.org.