Jesse Jackson Visits Charlotte, Personally Confronts BOFA Officials (Foreclosures)

Jesse Jackson Asks Banks To Help Struggling Homeowners


The Rev. Jesse Jackson is in Charlotte, challenging big banks to do more home loan modifications for people who are on the verge of losing their homes.

Jackson warned that if the banks don't start doing better, he may call for some of the same tactics used during the Civil Rights Movement, including protests.

"The government bailed out the banks. The banks will not bail out the people," said Jackson, who planned to try to meet with top executives of Bank of America, which is headquartered in Charlotte.

Jackson said he thought the Obama administration's bailout of the banks was the right thing to do but said he did not think it went far enough.

"Maybe the error, in retrospect, is that the bailout had no linkage to lending. No linkage to reinvesting," Jackson said.

Jackson's Rainbow PUSH Coalition set up a meeting at St. Paul's Baptist Church on North Allen Street, where people who were having trouble paying their mortgage could meet with representatives of a number of area banks.

One woman there for help did not want to give her name but said, "I started with a monthly payment of $615 and now I am at $1,047 with an adjustable rate." She was hoping she could get the payment reduced to the original amount.

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan was in Charlotte Monday to hand over a $1 million check to United Way. Moynihan did not take questions about Jackson's demand or anything else.










Bank of America Shareholders Lash Out During Meeting


Bank of America's new CEO Brian Moynihan met for the first time with shareholders Tuesday in Charlotte and faced a firestorm of criticism.

The special shareholder meeting at the International Trade Center was held to consider the bank's plan to increase common shares as part of its TARP repayment.

The measure passed but some shareholders were not happy, saying it would hurt the value of their shares.

Shareholder Stella Adams said of Moynihan and other bank executives, "They want a free hand to enrich themselves at the expense of stockholders and at the expense of communities and customers."

Another shareholder, Marijke Knipscheer from Florida said, "They really don't care what happens to the people who are supporting them with their hard earned money."

Moynihan, when he spoke, said paying back the TARP money was "in the best interest of the company."

The new CEO also heard from the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who urged the bank to do more home loan modifications.

Noting that Bank of America has paid back the TARP money, Jackson said, "The money is going from Washington to Wall Street, back to Washington but it has not come to the community yet."

Moynihan promised Jackson he would "do everything we can to support you."

After the passage of the vote on common shares, the bank now has about 11.3 billion common shares. Walter Massey, chairman of the board, admitted the move would dilute shares approximately 7 percent.

Shareholder Knipscheer said she felt this would only benefit the bank's executives. "I feel that a lot of these executives, they are doing what is called legalized theft."


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Sources: WCNC, Google Maps