November 1 News Advisory
Contact:
Erica Hade
(312) 343-0322
New Study to Expose Bank of America’s Record on Lending and Locating Branches in Chicago’s Communities of Color
Study Questions How Bank’s Practices are Harming Low-income Families
Chicago – One month after Bank of America became Chicago’s largest bank by acquiring LaSalle Bank, a new study questions how the combined bank is underserving Chicago’s communities of color and how its lending and other banking practices are keeping low-income consumers from building stable financial futures.
In addition, the new report examines Bank of America’s pattern of locating bank branches in Chicago against its top two competitors, and compares the Chicago record with five other cities ranked by the U.S. Census Bureau among the top-10 most segregated in the nation.
The report by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) will be released on a live, phone-based conference call with full, two-way Q&A:
When:
Thursday, Nov. 1
11 a.m. Central Time
Call-In Number:
(866) 281-6502 and ask for the “Bank of America call”
Bank of America’s acquisition in October of LaSalle Bank has raised concerns among Chicago community organizations and elected leaders at the local, state, and national levels, including a potential loss of 10,500 jobs and more than $780 million in tax and other revenue from the area, as projected by Anderson Economic Group.
Bank of America is the largest bank in the United States, controlling one in five credit cards and ten percent of all bank deposits—the maximum amount permitted by the Federal Reserve. Nationally, Bank of America has come under fire for its record of charging consumers some of the highest fees and interest rates in the nation.
For more information, visit
www.bankofamericabadforamerica.org.
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Erica Hade
Communications Director
SEIU Local 1
111 E. Wacker Drive, 25th Floor
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 233-8789
fax: (312) 233-8834