PICO - National Negotiations w/ Bank of America in Antioch

Bank of America's Barbara Desoer to Meet with CCISCO and PICO Leaders

St. Ignatius Church to Divest Unless Desoer Comes Through with Promise and Results

 After a successful protest in San Francisco, Bank of America President of Home Mortgages and Insurance Barbara Desoer has agreed to meet with CCISCO and PICO leaders on January 12, 2009 at Holy Rosary Church in Antioch for national loan modification negotiations.  With only a pitiful 98 permanent loan modifications across the country, Bank of America has fallen short of fulfilling their bailout promises.  

 For this reason, St. Ignatius Church made the decision to close their account with Bank of America to protest their horrific track record of failing to keep families in their homes and for the widespread human suffering that it has caused.  The announcement was made at a press conference held at the Bank of America branch in Antioch, CA.  Thirty community residents had gathered with clergy, pastors and faith leaders from the Baptist, Catholic and Muslim community.

"The largest banks in the United States, which have a complex system for penalizing people for submitting their mortgages just a few minutes late, should also be able to put together a functioning plan to help people stay in their homes and keep paying their mortgages," said Fr. Rien of St. Ignatius Church to those gathered in front of the bank, "It is time to hold banks accountable and restore integrity and morality to our financial system."