Move Our Money II: CCI members move $20,000 out of Wells Fargo

With today's action, CCI members have moved over $55,000 out of Wells Fargo this year

Iowa CCI members moved over $20,000 out of Wells Fargo in another powerful “Move Our Money” day of action, while a dozen others were there to cheer them on and send a strong message to corporate behemoths. Fed up with Wells Fargo’s financing of the private prison and payday loan industry, and their questionable lending practices targeting communities of color, CCI members have been moving their money out of the bank.

CCI member Tracy Bougher, who had been a customer of Wells Fargo for 40 years, finally said enough was enough. He closed his account today, along with his wife Karen.

“It had been a long time coming – I wasn’t going to let them keep nickling and dimeing everyday people. I am very happy I did this,” said CCI member Tracy Bougher.

 Since May, over 25 accounts have been closed and today’s action put us at over $55,000 total moved out of Wells Fargo.

A recent report released by National People’s Action and the Public Accountability Initiative revealed Wells Fargo’s deep ties and investments in the private prison industry.

These findings prompted an intense month-long media blitz along with nationwide affiliates of the National People’s Action network.

"As long as they keep investing in industries that destroy the community, we are done having accounts with Wells Fargo,"  said CCI member Nataly Espinoza, who closed her account with Wells Fargo at the end of 2011. "It is important for all of us to come out and support those taking action today," she said.

In preparation for today’s Move Our Money action, Latino CCI members had been educating people through Spanish-language media on how private prisons are destroying immigrant communities, revealing the data on Wells Fargo’s investments and financing of private prisons, and encouraging Latinos to move their money in protest of the bank’s investments.

CCI received several calls and stories of people with terrible experiences with the bank, shocked at the fact that not only Wells Fargo was individually taking from them, but that it was also invested in the incarceration of immigrants.

And our actions are working! Last week, SEC filings made public showed that Wells Fargo dumped 75 percent of its aggregate holdings in the GEO Group, the nation’s second largest private prison company!

“It is good news to see that our campaign has caused Wells Fargo to dump part of their stock in GEO Group, but we must not let our guard down," said CCI member Victor Torres.

"Wells Fargo is still investing and financing other private prison companies, we want them to dump all of their stock and stop lending money to private prisons,” he said. Victor closed his account at CCI's first Move Our Money day in June.

Iowa CCI will keep encouraging Wells Fargo customers across Iowa to close their accounts until the bank pledges to stop profiting at the expense of immigrant detention and discriminatory lending practices.

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