This is something I put together to show that while you may be filing bankruptcy against your bank, your bank has done much worse, so don't feel too bad:
[This is kind of long, I apologize in advance if it was too long to post here. Feel free to remove it, Admin, if it's too long.]
Chase bank is being picketed today by the Stop the torture in Mexico Committee because of the role it has played in encouraging the Mexican government to launch an attack on the population of Southern Mexico (Chiapas).
This role is demonstrated by the quotes taken out of an internal memo leaked to the US magazine Counter-punch by a Chase employee. What the consequences are for the people of Mexico are demonstrated by the statements under the section the Deeds
The words
From MEXICO-POLITICAL UPDATE ,January 13, 1995
CHASE MANHATTAN'S EMERGING MARKETS GROUP MEMO
author: Riordan Roett
[...]While Chiapas, in our opinion, does not pose a fundamental threat to Mexican political stability, it is perceived to be so by many in the investment community. The government will need to eliminate the Zapatistas to demonstrate their effective control of the national territory and of security policy.
[...] The Zedillo administration will need to consider carefully whether or not to allow opposition victories if fairly won at the ballot box. To deny legitimate electoral victories by the opposition will be a serious setback in the President's electoral strategy.
The deeds
STATEMENT OF THE DETAINEES FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1995
Some of the statements of the people detained by the Mexican Federal Public Ministry, read to a crowd of 100,000+ in Mexico city. Amnesty International has now released several urgent appeals on behalf of these and other detainees.
HERMELINDA GARCIA
She rejects the statement that they made her sign and in denunciation, said:
I was detained in Yanga, Veracruz on Wednesday, February 8, 1995.
I was blindfolded until I got here.
I was beaten on the head and the bust. All of my clothes were taken off and I was touched all over my body. Later they brought us here, and I was beaten again in the jail.
ALVARO CASTILLO GRANADOS
He presented visible signs of physical mistreatment with profoundly cut and beaten wrists and cuts on the face. He complained of a pain in his chest from the beatings he received.
He was detained in Yanga, Veracruz on Wednesday, February 8.
******************
BANK OF AMERICA:
Ethics and Governance
Bank of America is facing a discrimination lawsuit brought by five African American current and former employees. The lawsuit claims that the bank limited the employees to minority and low net-worth clients because of the bank's belief that clients are more "comfortable" working with members of their own race.
-- Washington Post, 05/18/2007
Source URL: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy.../AR20070518009...
According to the Associated Press, Bank of America is facing an employee class-action lawsuit claiming that the company's cash-balance pension plan was designed to benefit Bank of America without regard for the welfare of employees. Plaintiffs claim that Bank of America asked workers to move $2.7 billion worth of 401(k) assets into the company pension plan, which was then used for investments yeilding a higher return than what the company was willing to offer employees. As of 2007, the case was unresolved.
-- Charlotte Observer, 03/02/2007
Source URL: none available
From 1989 to May 2006, Bank of America spent a total of $13.45 million on political campaign contributions. In the 2006 election cycle alone, $2.07 million was given by Bank of America employees to political campaigns. Of that amount, $918,631, or 44 percent went to Democratic candidates and $1.14 million or 55 percent to Republican candidates.
-- Center for Responsive Politics, 02/19/2007
Source URL: opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.asp?ID=D000000090&Type=P
In 2006, current Bank of America CEO, Kenneth D. Lewis, earned $27,873,348 in total compensation according to the Securities and Exchange Commission's calculations and $25,837,801 according to the AFL-CIO.
-- AFL-CIO, 01/01/2007
Source URL: https://www.aflcio.org/corporatewatc...m?tkr=BAC&pg=1
According to the Social Investment Research Analyst Network, ten years after the Federal Glass Ceiling Commission recommended disclosure of diversity data as a way to remove barriers and promote women and minority advancement, most US companies still fail to fully disclose EEO data to the public. Bank of America is listed as one of the companies that does not provide full public disclosure. Rather, disclosure of EEO data is made available upon request.
-- Social Investment Research Analyst Network (SIRAN), 12/07/2005
Source URL: www.siran.org/eeo1.php
The Inner City Press-Fair Finance Watch accused Bank of America and Citigroup of charging higher mortgage loan rates for African American and Hispanic borrowers than white borrowers. The ICP reports that blacks were over two times more likely to receive rate spread home purchase loans than whites, and Hispanics were 2.5 times more likely than whites to pay higher rates with all types of Bank of America loans.
-- Associated Press, 04/04/2005
Source URL: www.innercitypress.org/bofa.html
In March 2004 Bank of America and FleetBoston Financial agreed to pay a total of $675 million to resolve allegations of improper mutual-fund trading and to reduce fees investors pay by $160 million. Under the settlement, Bank of America would paid $125 million in civil fines and $250 million in restitution to investors. FleetBoston paid $70 million in civil fines and an additional $70 million in restitution. Additionally, eight members of the board of directors of Nations Funds, Bank of America's group of mutual funds, wererequired to resign their positions within a year for their alleged role in allowing the trading violations Also the two financial companies, which merged immediately following the settlement, agreed to make certain changes in their mutual fund operations. The settlemnet also severely restricted Bank of America involvement in the securities clearing sector.
-- Office of the New York State Attorney General, 03/15/2004
Source URL: https://www.oag.state.ny.us/press/20...mar15c_04.htmlhttps://www.banktrack.org/doc/File/b...Track%20other%...
Labor
In May 2003 Bank of America agreed to pay $4.1 million to settle a lawsuit filed by 280 current and former employees who said they were owed overtime pay.
***************************************
CITIBANK:
n May 2004, the Federal Reserve fined Citigroup $70 million for illegally requiring certain borrowers who qualified independently for loans to cosign. Citigroup was also required to pay compensation to some of these customers. Although Citigroup consented to the order, it did not admit any malfeasance
-- Ethical Corporation, 06/01/2004
Source URL: www.ethicalcorporation.com
In May 2004 Citigroup agreed to pay $2.65 billion to investors in WorldCom Inc. who had accused it of participating in financial fraud. The shareholders filed a lawsuit in October 2002 charging that Citigroup officials "averted their eyes" to WorldCom's financial frauds in order to protect $679 million in loans to Worldcom's ex-CEO, Bernard Ebbers. In making the settlement, Citigroup admitted to no wrongdoing.
-- Reuters, 05/10/2004
Source URL: none available
In August 2003 Citigroup Global Markets' brokerage division was fined $1 million by the New York Stock Exchange, for improperly advising WorldCom employees on matters related to their company stock holdings.The NYSE contended that the division advised WorldCom employees to borrow heavily to pay taxes on stock options but did not warn them of potential losses if the value of their holdings fell. The stock of WorldCom, which filed for bankruptcy last year, is now worthless.
-- Washington Post, 08/23/2003
Source URL: none available
In July 2003 the SEC announced that Citigroup Inc. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. agreed to pay a combined $236 million to settle charges that they helped Enron manipulate its books to appear financially healthy. The companies also agreed to pay $50 million to settle fraud allegations from the Manhattan district attorney's office.
-- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 07/29/2003
Source URL: www.sec.gov/news/press/2003-87.htm
The Corporate Library named Citigroup as "worst overall" in its listing of Ten Worst Large US Boards in 2003. The company earned the title because of it's scandal-ridden recent past and the fact that, although the company was forced to pay a fine, CEO Sandy Weill and the board have demonstrated no personal accountability. The fine was paid by Citi's current shareholders (and the shareholders of Citi's insurers), not by any of the people responsible. Furthermore, the organization states, "it would be fair to expect Weill to take a hit in pay. And it might appear at first glance that he did -- Weill refused his annual bonus, which had been $17 million the prior year. [Note the way this was announced as his decision, not the decision of the board's compensation committee, just in case there was any doubt about who's in charge.] But on closer examination, in addition to his $1 million salary and the $11.8 million on realized stock option gains, he was awarded new options on another 1.1 million shares. Fortune wrote, 'In February of this year, Citigroup's board of directors granted Weill options on yet an additional 1.5 million shares, which one outside consultant valued at about $14.5 million.'"
-- Corporate Library, 06/10/2003
Source URL: www.thecorporatelibrary.net/
In December 2002 Citigroup was one of ten brokerage firms that agreed to pay $1.44 billion in fines and to fund independent stock research for investors in a settlement with the New York State attorney general's office and the Securities and Exchange Commission, which handled the negotiations. In agreeing to the fines, the firms neither admitted nor denied that they had misled investors. It is hoped that the agreement with the firms will put an end to bankers and analysts pitching deals as a team.
-- Office of the New York State Attorney General, 04/28/2003
Source URL: https://www.oag.state.ny.us/press/20...apr28a_03.html
In April 2003 the Vanguard Group filed a lawsuit against Citibank and its subsidiary Salomon Smith Barney alleging the firms fraudulently sold it $70 million of worthless Enron Corp. bonds. The lawsuit claims that the firms disguised Enron's mounting debts to Citibank as normal commodity investment accounts, which were used to back Enron bonds. Those bonds were then sold to investors, including Vanguard. The investments turned out to be worthless when Enron went bankrupt in 2001.
-- Associated Press, 04/11/2003
Source URL: none available
Citigroup was named one of the "Ten Worst Corporations of 2002" by Multinational Monitor. The company was cited because federal and state officials are investigating it for recommending stock that the company described internally as "crap". Additionally, the company's affiliate, The Associates, was sued by the Federal trade Commsion alleging it used deceptive marketing practices. And the company's Citibank unit was forced to pay $1.6 million to settle allegations brought by 26 state attorneys general that it engaged in unfair and deceptive practices by telemarketing firms that solicited business using Citibank's customer lists and encrypted credit card numbers.
-- Multinational Monitor, 12/01/2002
Source URL: multinationalmonitor.org/mm2002/02december/dec02corp1.html
In September 2002 Citigroup investment banking division, Salomon Smith Barney, agreed to pay a $5 million fine to settle charges it issued "materially misleading" research reports on Winstar, a broadband telecommunications service provider that filed for bankruptcy protection in 2001. Reports from a Salomon Smith Barney analyst and his assistant praised Winstar but internal e-mails revealed the two were actually skeptical of the company, according to an investigation by the National Association of Securities Dealers. The company agreed to pay the fine without admitting or denying the finding of the investigation.
-- Associated Press, 09/23/2002
Source URL: none available
In September 2002, Citigroup agreed to repay customers $215 million to settle federal charges that its subsidiary Associates First Capital Corp. had manipulated people into buying overpriced mortgages and credit insurance. It is the biggest settlement involving consumer protection in the history of the Federal Trade Commission. The agreement allows two million consumers to receive cash refunds or reduced loan balances to help them to recover much of their losses. Citigroup does not admit to any wrong-doing by agreeing to the settlement.
-- Associated Press, 09/19/2002
Source URL: none available
Citigroup has failed to follow federal guidelines to prevent money laundering and has allowed as much as $800 million in suspicious Russian funds to flow through 136 accounts from 1991 through January 2000, according to the General Accounting Office. In a letter to the GAO in November 2000, Citigroup said it has found no evidence that it acted illegally, but it acknowledged lapses in enforcing its anti-money-laundering policies. The company said that it closed the accounts in question this year and tightened policies to prevent the problem from recurring. According to the GAO, Citigroup, along with Commercial Bank, accepted more than $1 billion from Delaware based U.S. corporations, which appeared to be shell companies created to move money from abroad into the U.S. banking system.
-- Washington Post, 11/30/2000
Source URL: none available
Human Rights
In November 2002 a lawsuit was filed againt Citigroup and 19 other companies for reparations because of alleged support to the apartheid regime that ruled South Africa until 1994. The case, which was filed by the Khulumani Support Group, seeks compensatory and punitive damages for more than 32,000 South Africans hurt by apartheid. The suit charges financial institutions like Citicorp with culpability for lending funds used to bolster police and armed forces under the racist regime. The case was dismissed by a judge in November 2004 because "the plaintiffs had not proved that the companies broke international law."
-- Guardian, 11/30/2004
Source URL: http://business.guardian.co.uk/story...tml#article_co...
CHASE:
In July 2003 the SEC announced that J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. agreed to pay a combined $236 million to settle charges that they helped Enron manipulate its books to appear financially healthy. The companies also agreed to pay $50 million to settle fraud allegations from the Manhattan district attorney's office.
-- Associated Press, 07/28/2003
Source URL: www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~rgibson/jpmorgan.html
The Corporate Library named J.P. Morgan Chase as having one of the Ten Worst Large US Boards in 2003. They found that directors on the board are interlinked to other corporate boards, either directly or indirectly, up to eight times as much as other coporate boards. There are no less than 26 direct board links between J.P. Morgan and other corporate boards.
-- Corporate Library, 06/10/2003
Source URL: www.thecorporatelibrary.net/ratings2003.htmlhttps://www.banktrack.org/doc/File/b...Track%20other%...
Human Rights
In November 2002 a lawsuit was filed againt J.P. Morgan Chase and 19 other companies for reparations because of alleged support to the apartheid regime that ruled South Africa until 1994. The case, which was filed by the Khulumani Support Group, seeks compensatory and punitive damages for more than 32,000 South Africans hurt by apartheid. The suit charges financial institutions like J.P. Morgan Chase with culpability for lending funds used to bolster police and armed forces under the racist regime. This case has now been resolved.
WELLS FARGO:
Dirty Money Campaign
The Dirty Money Campaign, sponsored by Rainforest Action Network (RAN), is working to end Wells Fargo's financing of environmentally and socially irresponsible projects. The bank is criticized for bankrolling endeavors such as mountaintop removal for coal extraction and logging in Alaska's Tongass National Forest. RAN is calling for public pressure on CEO Dick Kovacevich to outline and implement a responsible investing regimen for Wells Fargo. Click on the URL to take action now.
Complaints, Abuses, and Scandals
Ethics and Governance
In 2006, CEO Richard M. Kovacevich earned $29,846,883 in total compensation according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the AFL-CIO.
-- AFL-CIO, 01/31/2007
Source URL: https://www.aflcio.org/corporatewatc...m?tkr=WFC&pg=1
The NAACP's Banking Industry Report Card for 2004 gave Wells Fargo a "D+" grade for its employment, community investment, advertising, vendor and charitable giving practices.
-- NAACP, 08/01/2006
Source URL: www.naacp.org
According to the Social Investment Research Analyst Network (SIRAN), ten years after the Federal Glass Ceiling Commission recommended disclosure of diversity data as a way to remove barriers and promote women and minority advancement, most US companies still fail to fully disclose EEO data to the public. Wells Fargo is listed as one of the companies that does not provide full public disclosure; it only provides partial disclosure.
-- Social Investment Research Analyst Network (SIRAN), 12/07/2005
Source URL: www.siran.org/eeo1.php
Environment
Wells Fargo received the poor rating of "0.45" in a joint report by WWF and BankTrack investigating the social and environmental management policies of 39 banks around the world. Banks are rated from 0 to 4, 4 indicating compliance with all or nearly all relevant international human rights, social and environmental standards, and 0 indicating no publicly available policy addressing the subject. Wells Fargo's best individual score related to policy governing the building of Dams, where it received a 2.
[This is kind of long, I apologize in advance if it was too long to post here. Feel free to remove it, Admin, if it's too long.]
Chase bank is being picketed today by the Stop the torture in Mexico Committee because of the role it has played in encouraging the Mexican government to launch an attack on the population of Southern Mexico (Chiapas).
This role is demonstrated by the quotes taken out of an internal memo leaked to the US magazine Counter-punch by a Chase employee. What the consequences are for the people of Mexico are demonstrated by the statements under the section the Deeds
The words
From MEXICO-POLITICAL UPDATE ,January 13, 1995
CHASE MANHATTAN'S EMERGING MARKETS GROUP MEMO
author: Riordan Roett
[...]While Chiapas, in our opinion, does not pose a fundamental threat to Mexican political stability, it is perceived to be so by many in the investment community. The government will need to eliminate the Zapatistas to demonstrate their effective control of the national territory and of security policy.
[...] The Zedillo administration will need to consider carefully whether or not to allow opposition victories if fairly won at the ballot box. To deny legitimate electoral victories by the opposition will be a serious setback in the President's electoral strategy.
The deeds
STATEMENT OF THE DETAINEES FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1995
Some of the statements of the people detained by the Mexican Federal Public Ministry, read to a crowd of 100,000+ in Mexico city. Amnesty International has now released several urgent appeals on behalf of these and other detainees.
HERMELINDA GARCIA
She rejects the statement that they made her sign and in denunciation, said:
I was detained in Yanga, Veracruz on Wednesday, February 8, 1995.
I was blindfolded until I got here.
I was beaten on the head and the bust. All of my clothes were taken off and I was touched all over my body. Later they brought us here, and I was beaten again in the jail.
ALVARO CASTILLO GRANADOS
He presented visible signs of physical mistreatment with profoundly cut and beaten wrists and cuts on the face. He complained of a pain in his chest from the beatings he received.
He was detained in Yanga, Veracruz on Wednesday, February 8.
******************
BANK OF AMERICA:
Ethics and Governance
Bank of America is facing a discrimination lawsuit brought by five African American current and former employees. The lawsuit claims that the bank limited the employees to minority and low net-worth clients because of the bank's belief that clients are more "comfortable" working with members of their own race.
-- Washington Post, 05/18/2007
Source URL: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy.../AR20070518009...
According to the Associated Press, Bank of America is facing an employee class-action lawsuit claiming that the company's cash-balance pension plan was designed to benefit Bank of America without regard for the welfare of employees. Plaintiffs claim that Bank of America asked workers to move $2.7 billion worth of 401(k) assets into the company pension plan, which was then used for investments yeilding a higher return than what the company was willing to offer employees. As of 2007, the case was unresolved.
-- Charlotte Observer, 03/02/2007
Source URL: none available
From 1989 to May 2006, Bank of America spent a total of $13.45 million on political campaign contributions. In the 2006 election cycle alone, $2.07 million was given by Bank of America employees to political campaigns. Of that amount, $918,631, or 44 percent went to Democratic candidates and $1.14 million or 55 percent to Republican candidates.
-- Center for Responsive Politics, 02/19/2007
Source URL: opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.asp?ID=D000000090&Type=P
In 2006, current Bank of America CEO, Kenneth D. Lewis, earned $27,873,348 in total compensation according to the Securities and Exchange Commission's calculations and $25,837,801 according to the AFL-CIO.
-- AFL-CIO, 01/01/2007
Source URL: https://www.aflcio.org/corporatewatc...m?tkr=BAC&pg=1
According to the Social Investment Research Analyst Network, ten years after the Federal Glass Ceiling Commission recommended disclosure of diversity data as a way to remove barriers and promote women and minority advancement, most US companies still fail to fully disclose EEO data to the public. Bank of America is listed as one of the companies that does not provide full public disclosure. Rather, disclosure of EEO data is made available upon request.
-- Social Investment Research Analyst Network (SIRAN), 12/07/2005
Source URL: www.siran.org/eeo1.php
The Inner City Press-Fair Finance Watch accused Bank of America and Citigroup of charging higher mortgage loan rates for African American and Hispanic borrowers than white borrowers. The ICP reports that blacks were over two times more likely to receive rate spread home purchase loans than whites, and Hispanics were 2.5 times more likely than whites to pay higher rates with all types of Bank of America loans.
-- Associated Press, 04/04/2005
Source URL: www.innercitypress.org/bofa.html
In March 2004 Bank of America and FleetBoston Financial agreed to pay a total of $675 million to resolve allegations of improper mutual-fund trading and to reduce fees investors pay by $160 million. Under the settlement, Bank of America would paid $125 million in civil fines and $250 million in restitution to investors. FleetBoston paid $70 million in civil fines and an additional $70 million in restitution. Additionally, eight members of the board of directors of Nations Funds, Bank of America's group of mutual funds, wererequired to resign their positions within a year for their alleged role in allowing the trading violations Also the two financial companies, which merged immediately following the settlement, agreed to make certain changes in their mutual fund operations. The settlemnet also severely restricted Bank of America involvement in the securities clearing sector.
-- Office of the New York State Attorney General, 03/15/2004
Source URL: https://www.oag.state.ny.us/press/20...mar15c_04.htmlhttps://www.banktrack.org/doc/File/b...Track%20other%...
Labor
In May 2003 Bank of America agreed to pay $4.1 million to settle a lawsuit filed by 280 current and former employees who said they were owed overtime pay.
***************************************
CITIBANK:
n May 2004, the Federal Reserve fined Citigroup $70 million for illegally requiring certain borrowers who qualified independently for loans to cosign. Citigroup was also required to pay compensation to some of these customers. Although Citigroup consented to the order, it did not admit any malfeasance
-- Ethical Corporation, 06/01/2004
Source URL: www.ethicalcorporation.com
In May 2004 Citigroup agreed to pay $2.65 billion to investors in WorldCom Inc. who had accused it of participating in financial fraud. The shareholders filed a lawsuit in October 2002 charging that Citigroup officials "averted their eyes" to WorldCom's financial frauds in order to protect $679 million in loans to Worldcom's ex-CEO, Bernard Ebbers. In making the settlement, Citigroup admitted to no wrongdoing.
-- Reuters, 05/10/2004
Source URL: none available
In August 2003 Citigroup Global Markets' brokerage division was fined $1 million by the New York Stock Exchange, for improperly advising WorldCom employees on matters related to their company stock holdings.The NYSE contended that the division advised WorldCom employees to borrow heavily to pay taxes on stock options but did not warn them of potential losses if the value of their holdings fell. The stock of WorldCom, which filed for bankruptcy last year, is now worthless.
-- Washington Post, 08/23/2003
Source URL: none available
In July 2003 the SEC announced that Citigroup Inc. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. agreed to pay a combined $236 million to settle charges that they helped Enron manipulate its books to appear financially healthy. The companies also agreed to pay $50 million to settle fraud allegations from the Manhattan district attorney's office.
-- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 07/29/2003
Source URL: www.sec.gov/news/press/2003-87.htm
The Corporate Library named Citigroup as "worst overall" in its listing of Ten Worst Large US Boards in 2003. The company earned the title because of it's scandal-ridden recent past and the fact that, although the company was forced to pay a fine, CEO Sandy Weill and the board have demonstrated no personal accountability. The fine was paid by Citi's current shareholders (and the shareholders of Citi's insurers), not by any of the people responsible. Furthermore, the organization states, "it would be fair to expect Weill to take a hit in pay. And it might appear at first glance that he did -- Weill refused his annual bonus, which had been $17 million the prior year. [Note the way this was announced as his decision, not the decision of the board's compensation committee, just in case there was any doubt about who's in charge.] But on closer examination, in addition to his $1 million salary and the $11.8 million on realized stock option gains, he was awarded new options on another 1.1 million shares. Fortune wrote, 'In February of this year, Citigroup's board of directors granted Weill options on yet an additional 1.5 million shares, which one outside consultant valued at about $14.5 million.'"
-- Corporate Library, 06/10/2003
Source URL: www.thecorporatelibrary.net/
In December 2002 Citigroup was one of ten brokerage firms that agreed to pay $1.44 billion in fines and to fund independent stock research for investors in a settlement with the New York State attorney general's office and the Securities and Exchange Commission, which handled the negotiations. In agreeing to the fines, the firms neither admitted nor denied that they had misled investors. It is hoped that the agreement with the firms will put an end to bankers and analysts pitching deals as a team.
-- Office of the New York State Attorney General, 04/28/2003
Source URL: https://www.oag.state.ny.us/press/20...apr28a_03.html
In April 2003 the Vanguard Group filed a lawsuit against Citibank and its subsidiary Salomon Smith Barney alleging the firms fraudulently sold it $70 million of worthless Enron Corp. bonds. The lawsuit claims that the firms disguised Enron's mounting debts to Citibank as normal commodity investment accounts, which were used to back Enron bonds. Those bonds were then sold to investors, including Vanguard. The investments turned out to be worthless when Enron went bankrupt in 2001.
-- Associated Press, 04/11/2003
Source URL: none available
Citigroup was named one of the "Ten Worst Corporations of 2002" by Multinational Monitor. The company was cited because federal and state officials are investigating it for recommending stock that the company described internally as "crap". Additionally, the company's affiliate, The Associates, was sued by the Federal trade Commsion alleging it used deceptive marketing practices. And the company's Citibank unit was forced to pay $1.6 million to settle allegations brought by 26 state attorneys general that it engaged in unfair and deceptive practices by telemarketing firms that solicited business using Citibank's customer lists and encrypted credit card numbers.
-- Multinational Monitor, 12/01/2002
Source URL: multinationalmonitor.org/mm2002/02december/dec02corp1.html
In September 2002 Citigroup investment banking division, Salomon Smith Barney, agreed to pay a $5 million fine to settle charges it issued "materially misleading" research reports on Winstar, a broadband telecommunications service provider that filed for bankruptcy protection in 2001. Reports from a Salomon Smith Barney analyst and his assistant praised Winstar but internal e-mails revealed the two were actually skeptical of the company, according to an investigation by the National Association of Securities Dealers. The company agreed to pay the fine without admitting or denying the finding of the investigation.
-- Associated Press, 09/23/2002
Source URL: none available
In September 2002, Citigroup agreed to repay customers $215 million to settle federal charges that its subsidiary Associates First Capital Corp. had manipulated people into buying overpriced mortgages and credit insurance. It is the biggest settlement involving consumer protection in the history of the Federal Trade Commission. The agreement allows two million consumers to receive cash refunds or reduced loan balances to help them to recover much of their losses. Citigroup does not admit to any wrong-doing by agreeing to the settlement.
-- Associated Press, 09/19/2002
Source URL: none available
Citigroup has failed to follow federal guidelines to prevent money laundering and has allowed as much as $800 million in suspicious Russian funds to flow through 136 accounts from 1991 through January 2000, according to the General Accounting Office. In a letter to the GAO in November 2000, Citigroup said it has found no evidence that it acted illegally, but it acknowledged lapses in enforcing its anti-money-laundering policies. The company said that it closed the accounts in question this year and tightened policies to prevent the problem from recurring. According to the GAO, Citigroup, along with Commercial Bank, accepted more than $1 billion from Delaware based U.S. corporations, which appeared to be shell companies created to move money from abroad into the U.S. banking system.
-- Washington Post, 11/30/2000
Source URL: none available
Human Rights
In November 2002 a lawsuit was filed againt Citigroup and 19 other companies for reparations because of alleged support to the apartheid regime that ruled South Africa until 1994. The case, which was filed by the Khulumani Support Group, seeks compensatory and punitive damages for more than 32,000 South Africans hurt by apartheid. The suit charges financial institutions like Citicorp with culpability for lending funds used to bolster police and armed forces under the racist regime. The case was dismissed by a judge in November 2004 because "the plaintiffs had not proved that the companies broke international law."
-- Guardian, 11/30/2004
Source URL: http://business.guardian.co.uk/story...tml#article_co...
CHASE:
In July 2003 the SEC announced that J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. agreed to pay a combined $236 million to settle charges that they helped Enron manipulate its books to appear financially healthy. The companies also agreed to pay $50 million to settle fraud allegations from the Manhattan district attorney's office.
-- Associated Press, 07/28/2003
Source URL: www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~rgibson/jpmorgan.html
The Corporate Library named J.P. Morgan Chase as having one of the Ten Worst Large US Boards in 2003. They found that directors on the board are interlinked to other corporate boards, either directly or indirectly, up to eight times as much as other coporate boards. There are no less than 26 direct board links between J.P. Morgan and other corporate boards.
-- Corporate Library, 06/10/2003
Source URL: www.thecorporatelibrary.net/ratings2003.htmlhttps://www.banktrack.org/doc/File/b...Track%20other%...
Human Rights
In November 2002 a lawsuit was filed againt J.P. Morgan Chase and 19 other companies for reparations because of alleged support to the apartheid regime that ruled South Africa until 1994. The case, which was filed by the Khulumani Support Group, seeks compensatory and punitive damages for more than 32,000 South Africans hurt by apartheid. The suit charges financial institutions like J.P. Morgan Chase with culpability for lending funds used to bolster police and armed forces under the racist regime. This case has now been resolved.
WELLS FARGO:
Dirty Money Campaign
The Dirty Money Campaign, sponsored by Rainforest Action Network (RAN), is working to end Wells Fargo's financing of environmentally and socially irresponsible projects. The bank is criticized for bankrolling endeavors such as mountaintop removal for coal extraction and logging in Alaska's Tongass National Forest. RAN is calling for public pressure on CEO Dick Kovacevich to outline and implement a responsible investing regimen for Wells Fargo. Click on the URL to take action now.
Complaints, Abuses, and Scandals
Ethics and Governance
In 2006, CEO Richard M. Kovacevich earned $29,846,883 in total compensation according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the AFL-CIO.
-- AFL-CIO, 01/31/2007
Source URL: https://www.aflcio.org/corporatewatc...m?tkr=WFC&pg=1
The NAACP's Banking Industry Report Card for 2004 gave Wells Fargo a "D+" grade for its employment, community investment, advertising, vendor and charitable giving practices.
-- NAACP, 08/01/2006
Source URL: www.naacp.org
According to the Social Investment Research Analyst Network (SIRAN), ten years after the Federal Glass Ceiling Commission recommended disclosure of diversity data as a way to remove barriers and promote women and minority advancement, most US companies still fail to fully disclose EEO data to the public. Wells Fargo is listed as one of the companies that does not provide full public disclosure; it only provides partial disclosure.
-- Social Investment Research Analyst Network (SIRAN), 12/07/2005
Source URL: www.siran.org/eeo1.php
Environment
Wells Fargo received the poor rating of "0.45" in a joint report by WWF and BankTrack investigating the social and environmental management policies of 39 banks around the world. Banks are rated from 0 to 4, 4 indicating compliance with all or nearly all relevant international human rights, social and environmental standards, and 0 indicating no publicly available policy addressing the subject. Wells Fargo's best individual score related to policy governing the building of Dams, where it received a 2.
A NEW START!!!
Becca
Converted to asset case 5/26/2008 [X]
Comment