SF Community Board of Trustees Condemns Wells Fargo

SF Community Board of Trustees condemns Wells Fargo’s predatory lending practices, seeks new Banking Services provider for its money

April 26, 2012

Last night, the SF Community Board of Trustees, condemning its
current provider Wells Fargo Bank, voted to seek a new Banking Services provider for its money, citing that:

  • San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting has announced a first-of-its-kind audit of county land records of homes facing foreclosure.
  • Among the most jarring findings was that 84% of the files audited included legal violations

It also credited community-based organizations like SF ACCE and
Occupy Bernal for fighting to preserve the diversity of their  neighborhoods by defending the predominantly minority homeowners at risk of losing their himes to Wells foreclosure.

Trustee Chris Jackson stated that “Predatory lenders like Wells Fargo must be taught to correct their destructive policies.”

Buck Bagot of Occupy Bernal/SF ACCE thanked the Board for “putting its power – and the public’s money – behind my neighbors who Wells has and is hornswoggling out of their homes.”

AFT Local 2121 President Alisa Messer, whose unions represents Community College faculty, also cited Wells’ penurious student loan policies which charge college students up to 18% interest.

Both Bagot and Messer and members of their organizations participated in effort on April 24, 2012 to convince Wells Fargo shareholders to correct the Bank’s negative policies, but were denied admission to its shareholders meeting despite holding Wells Fargo shares.

The Board joined the SF Board of Supervisors and Mayor Ed Lee in
speaking out against predatory lending policies.

Occupy Bernal, ACCE, Occupy SF Housing Demand Banks End Foreclosure Auctions and Comply With San Francisco Foreclosure Moratorium

OCCUPY BERNAL MEDIA ADVISORY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Occupy Bernal: Julien Ball, +1 (415) 483-9138, press@occupybernal.org

ACCE: Vivian Richardson, +1 (415) 994-2778, vivan.richardson@yahoo.com

Occupy SF Housing: Stardust, +1 (415) 425-3936, press@occupysfhousing.org

Occupy Bernal, ACCE, Occupy SF Housing Demand Banks End Foreclosure Auctions and Comply With San Francisco Foreclosure Moratorium

Occupy the Auction Dance Party to Celebrate Wells Fargo Bank Postponing Auction of Bernal Neighbor’s Home

San Francisco, April 27, 2012 – San Francisco Occupy activists and supporters invited the 99% to attend an Occupy the Auction Dance Party at 1:45pm today at City Hall. Occupy Bernal, the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), and the Occupy SF Housing Coalition will celebrate Wells Fargo’s postponement of the auction of the home of Bernal neighbor Eric and his partner John by dancing away the remaining foreclosure auctions taking place on City Hall steps tomorrow.

Occupy the Auctions Dance Party:
1:45pm, Friday, April 27, at City Hall Steps, 400 Van Ness Ave, San Francisco

“Wells Fargo Bank postponed the auction of our home, but my partner and I are still living with the looming threat that they will sell our home out from under us,” said Occupy Bernal Foreclosure and Eviction Fighter Eric L. “We went through some tough times, but now we can afford to pay if the bank will just negotiate for us and all those who are seeking a fair deal to stay in their homes.”

“The banks continue selling off the homes of San Franciscans every weekday despite the San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ passage of a foreclosure moratorium resolution and the Mayor’s request for a pause in bank foreclosures,” said ACCE Foreclosure and Eviction Fighter Vivian Richardson. “Let’s tell the predatory banks we need a fair deal for every home owner and renter in San Francisco.”

Occupy Bernal, ACCE, and other community organizations in the Occupy SF Housing Coalition have organized an Occupy the Auctions/Evictions direct action campaign to invite the 99% to halt the dozens of foreclosure auctions that take place on City Hall steps each weekday.

Background:

California Attorney General Kamala Harris on February 27, 2012, asked lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to halt foreclosures statewide and for principal reductions for those facing foreclosure.

An audit commissioned by San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting on nearly 400 San Francisco foreclosures over the past three years reveals that “fully 84 percent of the foreclosure files contained at least one clear legal violation and more than 66 percent of the files contained multiple violations”. This report confirms what many have suspected and provides the evidence required for issuing a moratorium on all predatory or for-profit evictions, foreclosures, and foreclosure auctions until such time as the law violations mentioned in the report are resolved and mechanisms are put in place to prevent further bank abuses of homeowners and renters.

The recent deal between banks and the Attorneys General of 49 of 50 states is woefully inadequate and does little for the Californians hardest hit by the crisis. Foreclosures have cost the state $650 billion in lost home values, property taxes, and foreclosure-related costs, according to a report released last December by California Reinvestment Coalition (CRC) and the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE). The top banks – Wells Fargo, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Ally Financial – pay only $18 billion in this sweetheart deal, which amounts to only $150 per foreclosure statewide. About 750,000 families will receive up to $2,000, a pittance compared with even the depressed value of their homes. The largest chunk – more than $12 billion – will in part go to pressure even more homeowners to sell their homes for less than what they owe, in real estate transactions called short sales that are nothing more than an easy way for banks to make money and save time evicting homeowners, while leaving more and more neighbors without homes. To summarize, the 1% are profiting off the economic distress of the 99% to finagle the largest land grab since the Depression era or earlier.

In a city that has seen 12,000 or more foreclosures in the past three years, Occupy Bernal started organizing in December 2011 to stop the evictions and foreclosures of our neighbors, joining a community of housing rights organizations who have long been fighting for tenant’s and home owners’ rights. In response to public protest in January 2012, Wells Fargo Bank postponed auctions of the Bernal homes of Washington and Maria Davila and the Alberto Del Rio family, but the bank also rescheduled the auctions. Despite meeting with six foreclosure fighters from the Bernal Heights neighborhood and another from Bayview-Hunters Point, Wells Fargo executives have refused to allow any to refinance their homes or modify their loans, and have continued plans to sell off their homes.

This Occupy the Auctions action follows on successful protests that protested the Wells Fargo Shareholder Meeting on April 24, 2012, occupied the home of Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf on February 25, 2012, and shut down Wells Fargo headquarters on January 20, 2012, and Wells Fargo bank branches in the Bernal, Excelsior, and Noe Valley neighborhoods on January 5, January 7, and March 24 respectively.

To sign up for the Occupy Bernal press list and/or obtain photos and video of the actions, see http://www.occupybernal.org/press

Organizations and Campaigns:

Occupy Bernal is a neighborhood-based Occupy currently focusing on preventing the banks from throwing our neighbors out of their homes. Web: http://www.occupybernal.org

Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) is raising up the voices of low income, immigrant and working families across California. Web: http://www.calorganize.org

Occupy SF Housing is a coalition which includes OccupySF, SF Tenants Union, Housing Rights Committee of SF, Causa Justa :: Just Cause, Eviction Defense Collaborative, ACCE, Homes Not Jails, Occupy Bernal, and other community groups and individuals. The coalition came together to stop banks from evicting tenants and homeowners through foreclosures or through their partnerships with real estate speculators. Web: http://www.occupysfhousing.org

Occupy the Auctions/Evictions is a campaign to halt for-profit and predatory evictions, foreclosures, and foreclosure auctions in San Francisco and beyond. Web: http://www.occupytheauctions.org and http://www.occupyevictions.org

Protest the Wells Fargo Shareholders’ Meeting

There is a planning meeting for Occupy Bernal in preparation for this action. The planning meeting will occur on Thurs. April 19 at 7 p.m at the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center.

We’ll be be taking our demands directly to John Stumpf as part of a broad coalition of community, faith, labor, immigrant rights and movement organizations that is going to the Wells Fargo shareholders meeting on April 24, to fight for justice for homeowners and our communties.

Be a part of the 99% takeover. Join us on April 24th and tell John Stumpf that enough is enough!

We are just ONE WEEK away from the 99% Takeover of Wells Fargo’s annual Shareholder’s meeting!!! Thanks to the hard work and commitment of so many folks we have a very solid plan shaping up that will likely shake up the Bank that is breaking up communities, families and people’s future!

Meeting Reminder

The final coalition planning meeting will be this Thursday, 4/19 from 5:30-7:30 @ Local 87’s office, 240 Golden Gate in SF just a few minutes from the Civic Center BART stop.

Note: Occupy Bernal is having an organizing meeting for the OB contingent this same night, at 7pm at the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center

Action/Training Updates

4/21
Occupy SF will be hosting one of the final Direct Action trainings for participating in non-violent direct action that will cover: risking arrest, role-playing actions, legal consequences and details of the April 24th action on Saturday April 21, 10am to 1pm in San Francisco. This will be followed by a mandatory training from 2:30-4:30pm for anyone who is committed to participating in non-violent direct action on the outside takeover. To attend please respond to this email for the location.
4/23
The inside action planning team will be holding a final training and meeting from 3-6pm for all of the fighters planning to be inside the meeting on the 24th in the event the meeting is not shut down. This training is for folks with proxies and share only and for more information, please email Marguerite Young. Marguerite.young@seiu.org.
Later in the day
Occupy SF will be holding a “pop up” occupation and teach in starting @ 5pm in front of Wells Fargo’s corporate HQ on Montgomery & California St. in downtown SF. There will be another non-violent, direct action training as part of that event for folks who have to miss the training on Saturday. (Bring warm clothes!)

Legal Information

For folks participating in Non-violent Direct Action: please read this legal information from Occupy Legal if you are willing to participate in non-violent direct action

Websites and Social Media

Banking Videos for April 23rd’s Movie Showing about Wells Fargo

These video links are courtesy of Peter Menchini, Occupy SF Media
http://www.youtube.com/user/MayaMediated
https://picasaweb.google.com/110351006045593232796

These are for the lead-up to the
Protest the Wells Fargo Shareholders’ Meeting on Tuesday, April 24, 2012.

Videos about Wells Fargo

Videos about banks, foreclosures, and even education

San Francisco Board of Supervisors Committee Passes Foreclosure Moratorium Resolution

After a rousing protest on the steps of City Hall on April 2, 2012, the Land Use Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors held a hearing on foreclosures and passed unanimously (3-0) a slightly-amended foreclosure moratorium resolution and sent it on to the whole Board of Supervisors for consideration. This means that the Board could pass the resolution as soon as the Board meeting on April 10, 2012.

Speakers at the protest included Occupy Bernal Foreclosure and Eviction Fighter (FEF) Ross Rhodes, ACCE FEF Vivian Richardson, Occupy Bernal organizer and MC Judy Kurtz, and Supervisors David Campos and John Avalos, who sponsored the foreclosure moratorium resolution.

The Supervisors on the Land Use Committee voting in favor of the resolution were Malia Cohen, Eric Mar, and Scott Wiener, which brings the total number of Supervisors who have either co-sponsored or supported the resolution to eight, a super-majority of the Board. Among others, San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting, Ed Donaldson of the San Francisco Housing Development Corporation, and representatives of the Mayor’s and State Attorney General’s offices testified at the hearing. Kathryn Galves, who Wells Fargo recently evicted from her Noe Valley home of 40 years, and other FEFs, Home Defenders, and members of the public told their horror stories about foreclosures and related auctions and evictions and spoke in favor of the resolution. Wells Fargo declined to send a representative to the hearing.

Here are some pictures of the protest and the hearing (with more photos from Carol Harvey here:

Last Chance Sale for Kathryn Galves

9:00am – 6:00pm on
Saturday, April 7
1164 Church St @24th

On March 28, Wells Fargo Bank evicted our neighbor Kathryn Galves from the Noe Valley home where she lived for forty years, along with her sister Renita and their dog Betty.

Come discover some amazing bargains and help Kathryn raise rent and moving expenses (furniture, housewares, antiques, collectibles).

Link: Flyer (Please print, distribute, and post widely!)

Are you facing foreclosure or eviction? Or want to help others? Predatory foreclosures and evictions have no place in San Francisco. Check out www.occupyevictions.org.

Occupy Wells Fargo Noe Valley Action to Protest Kathryn Galves Eviction

Please join us from 9:00am to 6:00pm tomorrow, Saturday, March 24, at the Wells Fargo Noe Valley branch at 4045 24th Street between Castro & Noe Streets.

We will be protesting Wells Fargo Bank’s pending eviction of Kathryn Galves, her sister, and their dog, scheduled for this Wednesday, March 28.

To call/email Wells Fargo to get them to the bargaining table, please go to the action alert accompanying this action.

This action brought to you by Occupy SF Housing Coalition and Occupy Bernal.

Background Information

Kathryn Galves purchased her lovely home at 1164 Church Street in 1972 and the home increased in value considerably over the years. She is a military widow who banked on the increased value of her property to invest in an out-of-state property with a Section 8 (affordable public housing) tenant. The investment did not go well and she lost more to book sales customers who didn’t pay for their orders. Kathryn lives on a fixed annuity income and her live-in sister earns a meager living as a caretaker. When her financial situation went sour, Kathryn filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, but Wells Fargo Bank successfully challenged the bankruptcy, then foreclosed on her home and it went to foreclosure auction.

No one bid for the property at auction, so it became “bank-owned”, that is, owned by Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo has filed for the San Francisco Sheriff to evict Kathryn, her sister, and their dog from her home of 40 years. Kathryn has found a long-term neighbor who is willing to purchase her home and let her, her sister, and their dog remain in the home. Despite many requests by Kathryn and the prospective buyer, Wells Fargo has refused to come to the bargaining table regarding selling the home.

Occupy SF Housing and San Francisco Officials to Call for Foreclosure Moratorium 12:00 Noon, March 20, at City Hall

Links: Foreclosure Moratorium Resolution (as introduced)    Photos of the event

Update: Foreclosure and Eviction Fighters and Supervisors spoke together at a press conference on City Hall Steps. Supervisor John Avalos introduced the Foreclosure Moratorium Resolution at the Board of Supervisors meeting as planned.

OCCUPY BERNAL MEDIA ADVISORY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Occupy Bernal: Julien Ball, +1 (415) 483-9138, press@occupybernal.org

ACCE: Erin Franey, +1 (503) 816-4593, efraney@calorganize.org

Occupy SF Housing: Stardust, +1 (415) 425-3936, stardust@willdoherty.org

Occupy Bernal, ACCE, Occupy SF Housing Demand San Francisco End Evictions, Foreclosures, and Foreclosure Auctions

San Francisco Officials to Speak on Unlawful Foreclosures, Moratorium Resolution

San Francisco, March 20, 2012 – Occupy Bernal, the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), and the Occupy SF Housing Coalition today take their demand for an immediate moratorium on predatory bank evictions, fraudulent foreclosures, and foreclosure auctions to city officials, some of whom plan to introduce a foreclosure moratorium resolution to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

Press Conference of Foreclosure/Eviction Fighters and City/County Officials:
12:00–12:30pm, Tuesday, March 20, at
City Hall Steps, 400 Van Ness Ave, San Francisco (foreclosure auction side)

Speakers at the press conference will include: San Francisco Supervisors John Avalos, David Campos, and Christina Olague, Occupy Bernal Foreclosure and Eviction Fighters (FEFs) Alberto del Rio and Ernesto Viscarra, ACCE FEF Monica Kenney, who recently successfully fought a Wells Fargo eviction, and Molly Martin, an organizer from Occupy Bernal.

After the press conference, Supervisor John Avalos and co-sponsors – Supervisors Campos, Olague, and Kim, and Board President Chiu – plan to introduce a resolution for a moratorium on foreclosures and related auctions and evictions to the Board of Supervisors meeting at 2:00pm at City Hall.

Occupy organizers and supportive Supervisors have invited other officials from the City and County of San Francisco, including Mayor Ed Lee, Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting, Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, City Attorney Dennis Herrera, District Attorney George Gascón, and other members of the Board of Supervisors, to the press conference and to introduce legislation and policies that will prevent unlawful foreclosures and related auctions and evictions in San Francisco.

Occupy Bernal, ACCE, and other community organizations in the Occupy SF Housing Coalition are also announcing an Occupy the Auctions/Evictions direct action campaign to invite the 99% to halt the dozens of foreclosure auctions that take place on City Hall steps each weekday.

Occupy Bernal, ACCE, and the Occupy SF Housing coalition invite the press to hear from San Francisco residents as well as from officials of the City and County of San Francisco.

“I no longer want to worry about what to tell my children when I return home each night,” said Occupy Bernal Foreclosure Fighter Alberto del Rio. “We who face bank foreclosures and evictions just want a fair deal from the banks so our families can sleep soundly in our homes.”

“We are fast losing residents from our communities – seniors, families, community leaders, city workers,” said ACCE Foreclosure Fighter Archbishop Franzo King. “The city must do all in its power to pause foreclosures and cease partnering with predatory banks so we can all hold the banks accountable for their crimes.”

California Attorney General Kamala Harris on February 27, 2012, asked lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to halt foreclosures statewide and for principal reductions for those facing foreclosure.

“The banks have torn apart our communities and caused a financial and health crisis by unjustly foreclosing and evicting our neighbors from their homes,” commented Occupy Bernal organizer Molly Martin. “We support those city officials who have joined with the state Attorney General in calling for an immediate halt to predatory and for-profit foreclosures and related auctions and evictions.”

An audit commissioned by San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting on nearly 400 San Francisco foreclosures over the past three years reveals that “fully 84 percent of the foreclosure files contained at least one clear legal violation and more than 66 percent of the files contained multiple violations”. This report confirms what many have suspected and provides the evidence required for issuing a moratorium on all predatory or for-profit evictions, foreclosures, and foreclosure auctions until such time as the law violations mentioned in the report are resolved and mechanisms are put in place to prevent further bank abuses of homeowners and renters.

The recent deal between banks and the Attorneys General of 49 of 50 states is woefully inadequate and does little for the Californians hardest hit by the crisis. Foreclosures have cost the state $650 billion in lost home values, property taxes, and foreclosure-related costs, according to a report released last December by California Reinvestment Coalition (CRC) and the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE). The top banks – Wells Fargo, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Ally Financial – pay only $18 billion in this sweetheart deal, which amounts to only $150 per foreclosure statewide. About 750,000 families will receive up to $2,000, a pittance compared with even the depressed value of their homes. The largest chunk – more than $12 billion – will in part go to pressure even more homeowners to sell their homes for less than what they owe, in real estate transactions called short sales that are nothing more than an easy way for banks to make money and save time evicting homeowners, while leaving more and more neighbors without homes. To summarize, the 1% are profiting off the economic distress of the 99% to finagle the largest land grab since the Depression era or earlier.

In a city that has seen 12,000 or more foreclosures in the past three years, Occupy Bernal started organizing in December 2011 to stop the evictions and foreclosures of our neighbors, joining a community of housing rights organizations who have long been fighting for tenant’s and home owners’ rights. In response to public protest in January 2012, Wells Fargo Bank postponed auctions of the Bernal homes of Washington and Maria Davila and the Alberto Del Rio family, but the bank also rescheduled the auctions. Despite meeting with six foreclosure fighters from the Bernal Heights neighborhood and another from Bayview-Hunters Point, Wells Fargo executives have refused to allow any to refinance their homes or modify their loans, and have continued plans to sell off their homes.

This press conference follows on successful protests that occupied the home of Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf on February 25, 2012, and shut down Wells Fargo headquarters on January 20, 2012, and Wells Fargo bank branches in the Bernal and Excelsior neighborhoods on January 5 and January 7 respectively.

To sign up for the Occupy Bernal press list and/or obtain photos and video of the actions, see http://www.occupybernal.org/press

Organizations and Campaigns:

Occupy Bernal is a neighborhood-based Occupy currently focusing on preventing the banks from throwing our neighbors out of their homes. Web: http://www.occupybernal.org

Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) is raising up the voices of low income, immigrant and working families across California. Web: http://www.calorganize.org

Occupy SF Housing is a coalition which includes OccupySF, SF Tenants Union, Housing Rights Committee of SF, Causa Justa :: Just Cause, Eviction Defense Collaborative, ACCE, Homes Not Jails, Occupy Bernal, and other community groups and individuals. The coalition came together to stop banks from evicting tenants and homeowners through foreclosures or through their partnerships with real estate speculators. Web: http://www.occupysfhousing.org

Occupy the Auctions/Evictions is a campaign to halt for-profit and predatory evictions, foreclosures, and foreclosure auctions in San Francisco and beyond. Web: http://www.occupytheauctions.org and http://www.occupyevictions.org

– 30 –

Photos

Update: Occupy Wells Director Lloyd H. Dean on March 14, 2012

Update: 47 protestors braved the rain to let Wells Fargo Director Lloyd H. Dean that Wells Fargo’s foreclosures make us sick! The protestors delivered a message to Dean through a representative who wouldn’t say his name and told us he wasn’t “going to play our game”. The protestors picketed chanting “Evict Wells Fargo” and Foreclosure/Eviction fighters from a few neighborhoods spoke, indicting Wells Fargo for tearing apart our communities with their predatory lending practices. Check out the photos below.

Tell Wells Fargo Director Lloyd H. Dean: Foreclosures and evictions make us sick!
PROTEST & Picket!
Wednesday, March 14, 12 noon
185 Berry Street (between 3rd and 4th St., Caltrain station 4th and King)
Outside the offices of Dignity Health

Lloyd H. Dean is a Wells Fargo board member and is the chair of Wells Fargo’s Corporate Responsibility Committee. He earned $333,789 from the company in 2010, while Wells Fargo continues to kick the 99 percent out of our homes while destroying our communities.

We don’t think that’s very responsible.

As the CEO of a non-profit health-care provider, Dignity Health, Dean should know better. After all, the company website says that the “word ‘dignity’ perfectly defines what our organization stands for: showing respect for all people”. But where’s the dignity for people who are getting thrown out of their homes while Wells Fargo collects tens of billions of dollars of our money in bail-outs? Lloyd H. Dean may think he’s providing care for the sick. But the truth is, foreclosures and evictions are making us sick!

Foreclosure fighters and activists from around the city have been demanding that Wells Fargo stop foreclosure proceedings against them and modify their loans so they can stay in their homes. Late last month, after he didn’t return our calls, we even showed up at Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf’s home to demand a fair deal. But we know that he serves at the pleasure of the Wells Fargo Board of Directors. So if he won’t talk to us, we’ll take the fight to his bosses.

Join us as we pay Lloyd H. Dean a visit! Don’t let our neighbors lose their homes. Stop ALL foreclosures and evictions for profit!

Sponsored by Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) and Occupy Bernal

For more information, call 415-483-9138 or 415-335-7033. Email: info@occupybernal.org or gmartinez@calorganize.org

Photos