To: Mayor Jonathan Rothschild, Councilwoman Regina Romero, Councilman Paul Cunningham, Vice Mayor Karin Uhlich, Councilwoman Shirley Scott, Councilman Richard Fimbres, and Councilman Steve Kozachik
City of Tucson - Move Your Money!
Wells Fargo is a poor corporate citizen with a documented track record of profiting from discrimination against minorities, low income customers, and consumers.
We call upon the City of Tucson to take the lead among Arizona cities by investing our money responsibly! We call on the City and the Rio Nuevo board to divest our community's taxpayer money from Wells Fargo and invest instead in a community-based banking institution that will invest in our local community and that better represents our civic values.
Why is this important?
With a track record of mortgage abuses and unfair treatment of low income and minority customers, Wells Fargo does not represent the values of most Tucsonans. Yet the City of Tucson and the Rio Nuevo board invest a large portion of our community's money in Wells Fargo accounts.
At the height of the sub-prime lending boom, Wells Fargo was 3-4 times more likely to loan sub-prime mortgages to financially stable Latinos and African-Americans than to Caucasians. In 2010, Wells was fined by a U.S. District Judge for its predatory overdraft practices.
And Wells Fargo is one of only two remaining U.S. banks to offer Direct Deposit Advance, a type of high interest payday loan available right from the ATM machine, with marketing targeting low income and minority customers.
Tucson deserves better!
Let's call on the City of Tucson and Rio Nuevo to move OUR money out of Wells Fargo and back into our community through investment in a community bank!