Wells Fargo just can't catch a break. Not only has the US Department of Justice told the bank that it might file a fair lending action against it for its allegedly discriminatory practices with respect to maintenance of REO, but the morons at MoveOn.org have decided to stage a public protest against Wells Fargo solely because they can't find Bank of America to kick around.
As for the DOJ claims, they appear to be based upon consumer advocates' claims that the bank takes better care of foreclosed-upon real estate it owns in neighborhoods where white people live than it does in areas where minorities live. I suspect that the bank will assert that (a) any rational real estate owner is only going to invest money in a piece of real estate where the owner has a realistic chance of recouping that investment through a higher sales price, (b) that such recoupment decisions are made on a property-by-property basis based upon objective data like recent comparable sales prices and fair market valuations, (c) that the economic reality-driven facts of life are that many more such properties are located in majority-white neighborhoods than in minority neighborhoods, and (d) there has been no intent to discriminate, merely to minimize losses, will fall on deaf ears. As we've previously noted, the DOJ is on a jihad against lenders based upon "disparate impact" theories that the DOJ knows, in its heart-of-hearts, are highly fragile when exposed to the light of logic, the kind of logic applied by the US Supreme Court. Justice will likely pursue Wells Fargo and try to squeeze some dough out of it before the highest court eventually shuts down this racket.
What's really bad news, though, is that Wells Fargo is having the Occupy fellow-travelers occupying its Denver downtown branch (deliciously ensconced in a high rise known as "The Cash Register Building," a landmark where the author of this blog once labored) as part of a protest against one of Wells Fargo's rivals, Bank of America. That protest is enough to confound even Occupy sympathizers like Denver Business Journal reporter Heather Draper, who's a self-confessed big bank hater.
This member of the media is confused. You want to draw my attention to BofA’s shameless practices by protesting Wells Fargo? No wonder the message of the 99 percent gets muddled.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I’m on the side of the banks. I’m squarely in the “99 percent” and I understand and agree with the need to draw attention to corporate wrongdoing.
But in this case, I’d say a BofA protest at an entirely different bank is confounding, at best.
Why, you may ask with good reason, is MoveOn.org picking on Wells Fargo for the conduct of Bank of America? I'm glad you asked.
In the way of explanation, the MoveOn.org email said: “While Bank of America’s CEO and shareholders meet in Charlotte, N.C., tomorrow, the 99 percent is taking to the streets across the nation to protest BofA. As the economy declined, BofA made millions in profits by dodging taxes and foreclosing on homes, which hit communities of color especially hard. Bad publicity is like kryptonite to big corporations — that’s why thousands of people are protesting, marching, and raising our voices in solidarity to draw the media’s attention to BofA’s shameless practices.”
[...]
“Since there is no BofA branch in Denver, we will rally again at Wells Fargo, the major tax dodging, home-foreclosing, job-outsourcing bank in Denver,” said the email from MoveOn.org.
That explanation caused Ms. Draper to "laugh out loud." It caused me to wonder why MoveOn.org just doesn't move on down the road...into a ditch or, better yet, off a cliff.






