A coalition of 34,000 churches says that the megabank's mortgage practices are suppressing economic growth in African-American communities
A coalition of 34,000 churches is calling for a boycott of Wells Fargo, saying that the megabank has suppressed economic growth in African-American neighborhoods.
The National Black Church Initiative (NBCI) cited a list of infractions when calling for the boycott, according to a report by The Los Angeles Sentinel. The bank has already garnered more than its share of unfavorable press – and massive fines – over the last two years for the opening of unauthorized customer accounts, unfair mortgage practices and charging customers for unnecessary car insurance. The bank has also been sued by the cities of Sacramento, Calif., and Philadelphia for allegedly discriminating against black and Latino homebuyers. The lawsuits alleged that minority borrowers were much more likely to receive high-cost or high-risk loans than similarly situated white borrowers.
Rev. Anthony Evans, NBCI president, said that the organization was taking Wells Fargo to task for its alleged inequitable housing policies.
“What we hold Wells responsible for, in our community, is taking out about $50 billion in wealth in terms of equity in our housing,” Evans told the Sentinel. “That (equity) would have a direct impact on African-American wealth and whether or not blacks could afford college, have health insurance and being able to save for retirement.”
Evans told the Sentinel that needlessly pushing high-interest and high-risk loans in black communities created an “economic false bottom” that took billions out of local economies.
“We are not going to allow Wells of getting away with raping and ravishing our community and tell us, ‘We’re sorry and let’s hit a restart button,’ and offer us an apology,” he said.
Evans acknowledged that asking people to immediately withdraw their savings from Wells Fargo wasn’t feasible, but recommended that African-Americans avoid opening new checking or savings accounts at the bank, the Sentinel reported.
The NBCI plans to continue the boycott until Wells Fargo develops a “massive economic development plan for the African-American community,” Evans said.
He said that the NBCI was prepared to stick with the boycott over the next five years.
