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YORKTOWN, N.Y. — A small group of protesters carrying signs that read "Bad for America" and "Save the American Dream" rallied outside the Bank of America branch in Yorktown on Wednesday as part of nationwide demonstrations against corporate greed and unfair business practices.
The protest at the Triangle Shopping Center lasted only about 30 minutes. Yorktown police broke up the rally because a required permit was not obtained, but the message of the American Dream Movement was delivered loud and clear.
"We're protesting the Bank of America because they are the poster child for everything that is going wrong in this country," said Tim Barnes, council organizer for MoveOn.org Northern Westchester/Putnam. "This bank needs to change or go away."
Barnes said Bank of America was the largest recipient of government bailout funds with $230 billion, yet cut back loans from 2007 to 2010, charged customers $8 billion in fees in 2011 and has one of the lowest rates of any of the major lending services in putting homeowners into loan modifications under the federal Home Affordable Mortgage Program to avoid foreclosures.
Deborah May, a former Buchanan resident who now lives in a senior trailer park in Mahopac, said she is worried the country is heading back in the direction of an economic recession.
"I'm very concerned the banks are still operating under the same regulations as they were before they took the bailout," said May, who works for ARCS as a community service HIV/AIDS trainer. "That was very frightening, and we may have the same situation. Nothing has changed."
A Yorktown resident and 15-year Bank of America customer who declined to be identified said she was withdrawing her money and depositing it in TD Bank.
Peekskill resident George Ondek showed his support for the protesters and said the banks that benefited from the bailout should help homeowners with their mortgages.
"This isn't a Yorktown issue," he said. "It affects everyone. It's a shame what the banks put us through in 2008."
The protest was designed to coincide with the Bank of America's shareholder meeting in North Carolina. Representatives for Bank of America did not respond to a request for comment.
Comments (2)
Hi again Francis! It truly surprises me that you have enough time to tear yourself away from watching Faux News to respond to articles in The Daily Yorktown.
Clearly you have swallowed hook, line and sinker what the 1% has fed you - that somehow it was irresponsible citizens that caused the economic downturn, etc. You even parrot their diminishment of organizers! Since you have decided to blindly follow those who are the mouthpieces of the 1%, I have decided to furnish you with some actual facts:
In 2010 alone, BOA charged its New York customers $414 million dollars in fees. In 2011, BOA charged its collective customers $8 billion in fees, an increase of 53% since 2002.
BOA announced up to 69,000 job cuts between 2004 and 2008. In September 2011, BOA announced plans to eliminate 30,000 jobs; more than 10% of its current workforce.
BOA was the #1 largest recipient of government bailout funds ($230.1 billion), yet from 2007 to 2010 BOA cut back loans through the Small Business Association’s flagship 7(a) loan program 99%! 96% of BOA’s small business lending is now in the form of credit card loans which charge 16-23% interest, as opposed to the 7-9% SBA loans charge. The number of jobs funded by SBA loans has since dropped 94%.
BOA paid $20 million to settle charges against its subsidiary of violating the Service Members Civil Relief Act by illegally foreclosing on approximately 160 military service members.
Over the past 2 years, BOA has invested over $4.3 billion in the coal industry (more than any other bank), one of the biggest threats to public health and climate stability.
From 2006 to 2010, BOA (and mortgage lenders it has acquired) was twice as likely to put Latino borrowers into high-cost subprime loans than it was to put “White” borrowers into the same loan types, and BOA was 147% more likely to do the same to African American borrowers. During the economic downturn from 2007 to 2009, BOA gave 62% less mortgages to African Americans and 66% less to Latinos, but only 31% less to “Whites”.
The average wage BOA pays its tellers is $11.44/hour, or roughly $23,800 a year. 2010 BOA CEO Brian Moynihan’s total pay was $10 million. In some states, BOA employees and their dependents are among the top users of state-subsidized healthcare programs – costing taxpayers approximately $45 million a year, and BOA is the only financial services firm that regularly ranks in the top ten among states that produce this data.
Three days after receiving $25 billion in taxpayer bailout funds, BOA held a conference call to organize opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act which would give bank workers the right to join a union as well as bargain for stronger whistleblower protections – so they can let the rest of us know about harmful consumer practices.
BOA has one of the lowest conversion rates of any of the major servicers for putting homeowners with trial home modifications into permanent ones under the Home Affordable Mortgage Program. BOA also failed to meet the program’s benchmarks for internal controls for identifying and contacting homeowners and for homeowner evaluation and assistance.
In 2009, BOA received a $3.5 billion refund on its taxes. In 2010, BOA received a $666 million refund on its taxes. From 2009 to 2011, the combined Federal Income Taxes owed by BOA were negative $5 billion. As of 2008, between them, BOA, Merrill Lynch, and Countrywide had 143 offshore subsidiaries registered in tax havens like the Cayman Islands.
Last fall BOA moved its risky derivatives from its investment bank into its FDIC-insured bank, meaning taxpayers are on the hook for risky bets – like credit default swaps- the bank made. BOA also made taxpayer-backed student loans under the Federal Family Education Loan Program, meaning the bank could make great profits on these loans but if borrowers defaulted then taxpayers were responsible for the losses. When the economy crashed, BOA received $4.8 billion taxpayer dollars for these loans from the US Department of Education, between 2008 and 2010.
According to an October 2010 Federal Reserve report which looked at 1044 credit card agreements with colleges, BOA had the most agreements with colleges by far. 906 of the 1044 schools included in the study (87%) have agreements with BOA to go after their students. BOA paid $62 million to secure these deals.
BOA spent $9.5 million on the 2008 and 2010 federal elections, has already spent $1.4 million during the current cycle, and spent $4.4 million into state races during this period. From 2008 to 2011, BOA spent $15.7 million on lobbyists to fight consumer protection bills dealing with mortgage reform, foreclosure protection, anti-predatory lending laws, overdraft fees, credit card reform, tax system simplification, regulation of derivatives markets, and the creation of an independent consumer financial protection agency.
Oh, and yes, I volunteer my time as an organizer. That means I give up much of my free time to help others to express themselves using their constitutional right to free speech. If you believe that helping others to express their concerns is a not a worthy position, then say that. That would be strange, however, being that you are expressing your views (you've been brainwashed with) through an organized source such as The Daily Yorktown's website. Or maybe you only dislike people being able to express themselves when their views don't coincide with the views you've been given?
I encourage everyone to move your money out of Bank of America and to a bank that values its customers, its employees, and our nation.
These people know nothing about the banking system. It was the lose lending policies that got us in trouble. Now these people want to go back to those days? What ever happened to having to put down 20% ? What ever happened to buying something YOU could afford? As far as Mr. George Ondek, he should stick to what he does best, direct cable tv shows. he has NO grasp of economics.
It is time for people to actually buy what they can afford. My mother always told me when I wanted something, do you have the money to pay for it? Don't have the money to pay for it then you don't need it.
Lastly who would take advise from a council organizer for MoveOn.org Northern Westchester/Putnam? Notice the title, sounds like our president. By the way, how is that choice working out?