New Haven rally calls for city to remove municipal funds from Wells Fargo Opposition raised to Wells Fargo holding municipal funds

Some 50 protesters rallied on the steps of City Hall to keep up the pressure on New Haven officials to close city accounts at Wells Fargo. Some 50 protesters rallied on the steps of City Hall to keep up the pressure on New Haven officials to close city accounts at Wells Fargo. Photo: Mary O’Leary / Hearst Connecticut Media Photo: Mary O’Leary / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close New Haven rally calls for city to remove municipal funds from Wells Fargo 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

NEW HAVEN >> On the day Wells Fargo announced it had found 1.4 million more phony accounts in its records, protesters kept up pressure on City Hall to take its money out of the bank that has had a stretch of internal scandals in recent years.

About 50 people listened to speakers on the steps of City Hall Thursday, where they mainly criticized the bank for underwriting oil and gas projects, particularly the 1,172-mile crude oil pipeline near the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota.

Led by Melinda Tuhus, the local group has collected some 500 signatures of people who support the petition to withdraw city funds with more expected to be added to the total through an online component. She said they have been talking with the city for months on the issue.

“Wells Fargo is not local; it takes its profits out of New Haven instead of reinvesting significantly in the community. Please choose a local bank,” the petition says.

It said the Wells Fargo supported North Dakota pipeline “threatens Native Americans’ drinking water, violates land that is rightfully theirs, and accelerates climate change — despite claiming ‘a commitment to a clean energy future.’”

It further alleged the bank discriminates against low-income Americans, specifically African American and Latino mortgage holders and said it has a history of investing in private prisons.

The bank had already admitted, almost a year ago, that the fake bank and credit card accounts staff had opened under pressure from supervisors, tallied approximately 2.1 million and it agreed to pay $185 million to make amends. The additional accounts brings that total to some 3.5 million fee-generating accounts.

Mayor Toni Harp, who was not at City Hall during the protest, issued a statement shortly after it ended.

“The Dakota Access Pipeline poses a huge environmental threat to natural systems all along its 1000-mile route and unacceptably disrupts the religious grounds of local Native Americans. I’ve asked the city controller to research and explore New Haven’s viable options in terms of divestment from Wells Fargo and the 16 other banks that provided loans to underwrite the bulk of that pipeline project.”

A Wells Fargo spokesman sent a statement Friday.

Kevin Friedlander, Northeast corporate communications manager for the bank, said it values its relationship with New Haven and wants to discuss the issue with the mayor.

Friedlander said it was one of 17 institutions involved in the financing of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which has been operational since June.

“Our commitment to the responsible development of all forms of energy remains unchanged, and since 2012, we have invested more than $70 billion in clean technology and other environmentally sustainable businesses. In 2016, more than eight percent of all solar photovoltaic and wind energy generated in the U.S. came from facilities owned in whole or in part by Wells Fargo. Additionally, we have been serving Native American governments and communities for more than 50 years, and today we provide capital and financial services to more than 200 tribal entities in 27 states including tribal community development projects,” Friedlander wrote.

The New Haven Independent had reported earlier that Harp, on its WNHH Radio show, had promised to gradually withdraw the funds.

City Controller Daryl Jones said there are four main operational accounts, where some $11 million in city funds flow through on a daily basis. He said they cover such things as payroll, capital funds and special funds from grant sources.

He said it would take a minimum of six to eight months to change banks for these accounts, a decision that would trigger hundreds of other operational and legal steps. This could only happen after New Haven put out a request for proposals to determine what other banks are interested in the city’s business.

Jones said some of the remaining 26 accounts could be moved more quickly and the controller said he has asked his staff to investigate changes for three to four or them at a time.

He said they can’t do it right away as the auditors are working on the fiscal 2017 books. Jones said any changes would require a methodical review by what is essentially a skeleton staff in his office Overall, he said all the accounts total around $200 million.

Jones said some banks are not in the mix because they are limited in what they can do. The controller said another important factor is to establish a relationship with any bank they chose that guarantees they can pick up the phone and get something done on a timely basis.

Elias Estabrook told the crowd at the rally he had a “pretty heavy heart” this week watching images coming out of Houston as thousands of lives were disrupted by Hurricane Harvey.

“That was a man-made storm,” Esterbrook said. “People fighting for climate justice ... it’s important to remember this week that that fight is urgent. I think that’s motivating me today. We have to move that money now before the next pipeline project ... to close down the coal plant, to make sure we can have a clean, livable future.”

The Rev. Allie Perry gave a list of reasons why Wells Fargo should not hold taxpayer money.

She doesn’t support the bank for financing private prisons, specifically the Geo Group and the Corrections Corporation of America, citing the 2016 report by In The Public Interest, which said these groups profit from “mass incarceration and the criminalization of immigration.”

“How perverse,” Perry said. She said these private prisons “exploit some of the least of these among us,” and New Haven’s money should not go a bank that helps underwrite them,

In addition to concerns about climate change, Tuhus said this year Wells Fargo was given a “needs to improve rating” by the Community Reinvestment Act, which is intended to promote lending in low-income neighborhood.

Tuhus said the Office of the Controller of the Currency said it had found “an extensive and pervasive pattern and practice of discriminatory and illegal credit practices across multiple lines of business within the bank.”

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fined Wells Fargo Bank, $100 million for secretly opening unauthorized deposit and credit card accounts. The bank will also pay an additional $35 million penalty to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and another $50 million to the City and County of Los Angeles.

After the 40-minute rally, the crowd walked a half a block to the Wells Fargo branch, followed by three police officers, and chanted: “Say it loud, say it clear, get our money out of here.”

While they are happy that the mayor is interested in exploring how to move money out of Wells Fargo, they reminded her why they want a stronger commitment now.

“Mayor Harp the election is near, get our money out of here,” they said in unison outside the bank.

After walking back to City Hall, the crowd climbed the stairs to the mayor’s office on the second floor to drop off the petition, after a city worker agreed to copy them for Tuhus.

Lt. Mark O’Neill, the new district manager for Wooster Square and downtown, would only let Tuhus and a reporter into the mayor’s office, which upset some in the crowd, who have all squeezed into the space on previous protests.

O’Neill said there were only a few chairs and 40 people, and in any event, the mayor wasn’t there.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated since it was first posted, to included a statement by Wells Fargo.