Tag: Bank of America

Foreclose The Banks!

By Foreclose The Banks

This spring, the 99% is taking on Bank of America. For too long they’ve preyed on us — but now, we’re turning the tables. Instead of letting the bank foreclose on us, we’re going to foreclose on the bank. On February 29th, and March 15, April 15th and May 15th we will move our money, put our bodies on the line and bring their crimes to light. It time to break up the bank and create real alternatives. Come out for the big days of action and share your everyday local actions on the Foreclose The Banks website.

Go to their website for more information, downloadable flyers, posters and more.

Matt Taibbi: Bank of America is a “raging hurricane of theft and fraud”

Delivered by Matt Taibbi on February 29 @ Occupy Wall Street

Matt Taibbi speaking at an Occupy Wall Street day of action, February 29th, 2012.

Matt Taibbi speaking at an Occupy Wall Street day of action, February 29th, 2012.

There are two things every American needs to know about Bank of America.

The first is that it’s corrupt. This bank has systematically defrauded almost everyone with whom it has a significant business relationship, cheating investors, insurers, homeowners, shareholders, depositors, and the state. It is a giant, raging hurricane of theft and fraud, spinning its way through America and leaving a massive trail of wiped-out retirees and foreclosed-upon families in its wake.

The second is that all of us, as taxpayers, are keeping that hurricane raging. Bank of America is not just a private company that systematically steals from American citizens: it’s a de facto ward of the state that depends heavily upon public support to stay in business. In fact, without the continued generosity of us taxpayers, and the extraordinary indulgence of our regulators and elected officials, this company long ago would have been swallowed up by scandal, mismanagement, prosecution and litigation, and gone out of business. It would have been liquidated and its component parts sold off, perhaps into a series of smaller regional businesses that would have more respect for the law, and be more responsive to their customers.

But Bank of America hasn’t gone out of business, for the simple reason that our government has decided to make it the poster child for the “Too Big To Fail” concept. Because it is considered a “systemically important institution” whose collapse would have a major, Lehman-Brothers-style impact on the economy, two consecutive presidential administrations have taken extraordinary measures to keep Bank of America in business, despite a staggering recent legacy of corruption schemes, many of which were simply overlooked by regulators.

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Yes! Weekly: Guilford foreclosures accelerate, but new filings are down

By Eric Ginsburg, Yes! Weekly

Marche Clarke, with the Guilford County Homeownership Center spoke at a recent anti-foreclosure rally outside of Bank of America. (photos by Eric Ginsburg)

Marche Clarke, with the Guilford County Homeownership Center spoke at a recent anti-foreclosure rally outside of Bank of America. (photos by Eric Ginsburg)

Residential foreclosures increased dramatically in North Carolina from September to October, with more filings in Guilford County than any other county in the state. Foreclosure rates went up nationwide by 7 percent, while foreclosure rates in North Carolina rose by 35 percent from September to October according to RealtyTrac, a real estate group that released the report.

Yet the total number of new foreclosure filings — residential and commercial listings that may not ultimately result in foreclosure — fell for the second straight month statewide.

“We’re still on the long term trend of higher foreclosure rates than normal,” said Peter Skillern, director of the Community Reinvestment Association of North Carolina. “There’s a sense that there is a backlog of foreclosures that banks are working through.”

In Guilford County, the number of new filings fell from 279 to 238, the lowest number this year. On average, Guilford County has seen 296 new filings every month, though the last four months have been below that average. In 2010, the average monthly filings were 335, and while 2009 and 2008 were lower, so far 2011 is averaging fewer filings.

Forsyth County’s new filings increased for the third straight month, including 260 in October, making it the most number of new foreclosure filings all year. For whatever reason, October has been marked by the highest number of new filings in Forsyth and Guilford Counties in 2007, 2008 and 2010. The same is true on a statewide level.

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When Zombies, Robots, and Occupy Greensboro Attack!

On November 11, 2011 Occupy Greensboro foreclosed on Bank of America with the help of robots and zombies!