East Orange Officials Pull City Funds From Wells Fargo, Blast ‘Predatory Lending’

EAST ORANGE, NJ — Wells Fargo needs to be reminded that people come before money, a group of municipal officials in Essex County says. And that’s why East Orange has pulled its public funds from the banking giant.

On Tuesday, a consortium of East Orange officials and local labor movement representatives announced that “a full divestment of all municipal funds from Wells Fargo is now complete” following a City Council resolution that passed unanimously in February.

The bold move - which reportedly makes East Orange the first New Jersey city to take such an action against Wells Fargo – is meant as a message to the corporate behemoth, officials said.

No additional information about the amounts or types of divested funds - or their new home - was immediately available.

“In East Orange, Wells Fargo remains one of the top foreclosing banks, holding nearly 13 percent of the city’s vacant and abandoned properties,” East Orange Mayor Lester Taylor III said. “As mayor of the second-largest city in Essex County and the 20th-largest in New Jersey, I am committed to sending a strong message that we will not do business nor consider doing business with any institution that intentionally preys upon homeowners in our city.”

“Business as usual is no longer acceptable,” East Orange Councilman Ted Green asserted. “For many years, the residents of East Orange have been subjected to predatory lending and aggressive foreclosure practices by Wells Fargo. The consequences of stolen wealth have been devastating to families of East Orange.”

The announcement was timed to take place during a national day of action as Wells Fargo shareholders gathered for their annual meeting, according to the group, which in addition to Taylor and Green included East Orange Councilman Chris James, School District President Bergson Leneus, NJ Communities United representative Trina Scordo and CWA 1037 President Ken McNamara.

“Wells Fargo has a demonstrated track record of causing harm to communities in pursuit of profit,” Councilman James said. “We may be the first city in New Jersey to announce our divestment from Wells Fargo, but we part of a growing movement of local governments across the country taking similar action. It is my sincere hope that what we have done in East Orange will encourage other cities in New Jersey to divest from a bank that has caused immeasurable harm to our residents.”

• See related article: Ocean County Woman Says Wells Fargo Fired Her For Missing Sales Goals

A Wells Fargo spokesperson provided Patch with the following statement on Wednesday about the alleged financial divestment.

"While we have not had a business relationship with the City of East Orange in recent years, Wells Fargo has always been a leader in investing in New Jersey’s low-to-moderate income communities. For the past six years Wells Fargo has been the nation’s leading residential mortgage lender to racially and ethnically diverse home buyers and we are dedicated to expanding sustainable home ownership in these communities. We have recently announced a $60 billion lending commitment to raise home ownership rates among demographics that are below the general population, and have contributed over $7 million to schools and nonprofit organizations across New Jersey."

NJ Communities United Executive Director Trina Scordo praised the East Orange leaders’ decision to divest their funds from Wells Fargo.

“Fake accounts, aggressive sales goals, investments in dirty energy and blatant disrespect for sovereign rights are just a few more examples of Wells Fargo’s profit-at-any-cost approach to business,” says Trina Scordo, Executive Director of NJ Communities United. “Unfortunately, this type of behavior is endemic of many big banks. The leadership by the City of East Orange, and the national movement of other municipalities divesting from Wells Fargo, is what is needed to demonstrate that our communities want – and in fact are demanding – a new system for how banks operate.”

• See related article: Woman Fired, Refused To Support N.J. Bank's Statewide Fraud Scheme

Taylor told Patch that the decision was made in solidarity with “a national movement to stand up to corporations who focus on profit margins over the well-being of the hard-working families in our community.”

“Our Division of Vacant and Abandoned Properties has done a phenomenal job of enforcing a law which holds banks like Wells Fargo accountable for the blight these foreclosures have left behind,” Taylor said. “Working closely with our City Council, we will continue to partner with municipal, county, state and federal officials and community leaders to fight against corporate giants and get people back into these homes.”

• See related article: N.J. Towns With Worst Foreclosure Rates - Is Your Town Here?

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