The city of Baltimore sued Wells Fargo in June for racial profiling while workers in Chicago took to the streets to protest its refusal to extend credit for Quad City Die Casting Company. As a reminder, Wells Fargo is the country's 2nd largest mortgage lender, 5th largest bank and recipient of $25 billion in TARP money --taxpayer money that they will now likely be spent fighting the discrimination cases filed against them in court.
Joining us in studio are Sarah Ludwig, Co-Director of Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project, Kai Wright, who wrote about the 'Subprime Swindle' for The Nation Magazine, Leah Fried, Organizer with the United Electrical Union, and Beth Jacobson, formerly one of the most successful subprime mortgage loan officers for Wells Fargo who became a whistle blower in the Baltimore case and is now offering advice to homeowners facing foreclosure through her agency, Paralegal Services and Consulting.
It was just six years ago that Olive Thompson purchased a home in a quiet working class neighborhood on Long Island with a mortgage from Option One. Her story is similar to hundreds of thousands of Americans who now face the very real possibility that they will be evicted from their homes. Throughout the country the foreclosure rate in 2008 skyrocketed. In the first two months of this year there have been more than 10,000 foreclosures in New York state alone.
Perhaps more striking than the foreclosure epidemic is just how easily it could have been avoided. Thompson discusses her predicament and what she plans to do if she's issued an eviction notice. While directing a documentary film on Wall Street and the housing bubble, Leslie Cockburn realized that the very subject of her film had become the greatest story of out time. In American Casino Leslie and Andrew Cockburn followed their characters through Wall Street's collapse, the foreclosure crisis, bankruptcy, and homelessness.
According to Cockburn, "We watched whole neighborhoods ravaged by the subprime meltdown. I have spent much of my career filming in war zones and post apocalyptic societies — Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan. But I never expected such a disaster at home." Leslie and Andrew Cockburn discuss their film, American Casino and explain how we all lost.
After dealing with them over a year, got offered a loan mod from Wells Fargo with no decrese in a high interest rate plus higher payments than the current loan I have with them now!! I want to join other people and groups that are fighting Wells Fargo. Please contact me, any info on this matter will be greatly appreciated.
By John Burn on May 12th, 2010 at 4:02 pm