last untouched ecosystems in the planet. for tarzans to be extracted, they destroy the land. it takes so much energy to extract tar sands that it has a carbon footprint of about three times that of conventional oil. tar sand extraction's use about four hundred million gallons of water per day from a river, and most of it ends up as toxic waste. it is contaminated with carcinogens such as cyanide. so the indigenous populations in other communities living downstream from these talks the ponds have high rates of rare cancers, lupus, renal failure, and hyperthyroidism. and wells fargo has refused to pull out of the tar sands. the next example is union bank, which is owned by bank of tokyo mitsubishi. a few years ago, they and other banks provided almost $1 billion

to build a coal-fired power plant in south africa. [bell rings] it would spew out over 36 million tons of greenhouse gases every year. in doing so, it would become one of the world's largest single- point sources of carbon pollution in the world. to make matters worse, it would mostly provide electricity to multinational corporations, who would get it and is subsidized rates. people who pay for the subsidies would be the rest of the south african ratepayers. this plan worsens energy access rather than making it better. supervisor avalos: thank you. next speaker, please. >> thank you so much for having us here. my name is david taylor with the rainforest action network. i want to talk about the environmental impacts of making portfolios. on behalf of rainforest action network, and want to talk about the crimes that bank of america is committing against public

health and our climate through its financial support of the coal industry. at every stage of its life, cold as serious damage, the number one contributor to climate change and the leading cause of mercury pollution. coal-fired power plants connected to defects in over 300,000 infants because of the mother's exposure to toxic mercury pollution. and communities are exposed by particulates of these calls, with one in a tent children now suffering from asthma. there's also a threat to our economic security. harvard published the report with the life cycle of coal from waste stream generated sources are costing the u.s. public at third to one-half of a trillion dollars annually. if you get any part of the life cycle of coal, you'll find that bank of america has a significant interest. it is involved in removal mining, using old dirty plants,

and shipping coal overseas. despite extended commitments to be low carbon economy, bank of america is the largest underwriter of the coal industry in the u.s., contributing $3.9 billion to the call secretary in 2010. more than any other bank, bank of america is continuing to prop up a 19th century energy system at the exact time when the opportunities and job creation and the transition to a green economy are paramount concern. [bell rings] i herridge the city of san francisco to cut ties with bank of america and consider the environmental exposure of bank of america and other banks' investment portfolios in the upcoming rfp. the city and state prides itself on being green leaders, and this is an opportunity for the city to take a step away from the carbon in 107 polluting industries supported by bank of america and some of our finance

not propping up the pollution. thank you. supervisor avalos: thank you very much. next speaker, please. >> good morning, supervisors. my name is reverend carl alexander, and this is my wife. i am a leader and the san francisco organizing project, an affiliate with a much broader network called the national network for people improving communities through organizing, which is working on a national bank and accountability campaign. i also served on the committee that has been appointed to oversee the hunters point shipyard community fund which can be leveraged into creating a financial institution which creates responsible lending and strategic investment opportunities. in general, -- let me move back up. tickets -- it is now essential the financial institutions that hold city assets developed a responsibility report back to the city there banking practices

as it relates to local residents. community leaders are in the process of creating a think tank which includes major stakeholders or subject matter experts in the financial arena to bring about financial literacy and social investment. social irresponsible investment or ethical investing describes the strategy which seeks to maximize both financial return and social good. in general, social responsibility investors favor corporate practices that promote environmental stewardship, a consumer protection, human rights, and diversity. finally, as an example of what pico was doing throughout the state, our affiliate organization in san jose, one of the san francisco sister organizations, has led a movement of churches and individuals or divesting their resources from bank of america. [bell rings] more than $3 million thus far has been removed from the bank

for damaging our communities. we are saying that the city is going to have a relationship with these institutions, there needs to be some sort of social responsibility investment. supervisor avalos: thank you very much. next speaker. william, mary, mark, cynthia, josh. >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is william peter i am is san francisco native and small business owner. in 2008, the financial crisis forced me to start my own business. like many people in the country, i was going through a loan modification. so when i reached out to major financial institutions, they denied my small loan. bankamerica, included, which is mine loan holder. i reached out to a community organization in my neighborhood enter non-traditional financing, i was able to start my business,

which no employees 40 families in san francisco and currently has two sfmta garages, which generate over $2 million in gross revenue. in the funds get deposited into bank of america. even then, big of america will not give me access to credit to expand my business, which you know what, we're used to, so no worries on that, but i am still working with them to modify my house loan. as i sit in loan modification purgatory, i see with this upcoming -- i think with this upcoming rfp, which in mandate the banks to set clear matrix's on how they're helping non- traditional people access loans, for closures, you know -- our they help us? let's hold them accountable. we can send matrix's fedor quantifiable of the want to be responsive to this at the very least. thank you. supervisor avalos: how long have

you been in loan modification limbo? >> it is guinta b five years now. supervisor avalos:oh! >> 5? >> it is update -- ok. where we come from, we help each other. they cannot kick us out of san francisco. supervisor avalos: we will not allow them. thank you. next speaker, please. mary, mark, cynthia, josh, francisco de koster, charlie -- francisco da costa, charlie, and fred. >> i am mary. i like to speak on the rfp. it is a great idea to have all the stakeholders involved in that rfp, but i would really like legislation passed that anything that comes out of that

rfp comes to this body, and it is decided by this party with transparency that not one small group of people designed. because we have to get out of these predatory banks. whatever comes out of this, bank of america has done criminal actions to the public, especially in san francisco. we cannot keep funding their projects, at their little projects on coal, their projects on it for closure of families. because each and every one of those 12,000 for closures impacted an entire family. and it will impact that family on many levels. the spiral of mental illness, the spiral of suicide, all of those things happen when people are desperate. and bank of america and the the

two banks have been very unresponsive to the families that are involved on a daily basis. so everything we can do in san francisco on those three banks, i am in great supportive. and i do not know if a lot of people know this, but bank of america just got bankedd contract for all the unemployment debit cards in the state. [bell rings] that is another thing we should look at. why should they just get it? ok. supervisor avalos: thank you. next speaker, please. >> good afternoon. i am here to speak about wells fargo bank and hotel frank, which is a hotel and started working yet in 1998. it is a small hotel. it is right near union square. it used to be called the maxwell. before that, the raphael. we had a communion contract with

local two at this hotel for 40 years before wells fargo bank showed up. wells fargo bank showed up in may 2010 and bought the hotel in a foreclosure sale, brought in a new set of managers from out of town, a poll done company called providence hotels, and they took our union contract and threw it in the trash can and the best of wells fargo bank. so the room cleaners that the bank these days are cleaning so many rooms that they really have time to take breaks. all their workers that extra duties while the staff is cut to the bone. we're working an extra half-hour for free. there is no accommodation with the union about medical plans or pensions. there is a national labor relations board. a judge who told them that they fired me illegally for being a union activist. that was back last july. i am standing here on unemployment. i think that tells you something about the people we're dealing with at this hotel. all at the behest of wells fargo

bank. they did not have to do this. there are other owners that this hotel made a profit in good times than bad. wells fargo bank is like to cause problems, i guess. you know, i am yea homeowner in this city and leggy to be a homeowner. money comes out of my pocket when i pay my taxes and ends up in the hands of wells fargo bank, the same people who have caused all this havoc in our hotel and who put me out of the hotel and on unemployment with one of these bank of america edd cards. i think that it is fiscally irresponsible for my money in taxpayers' money to go to wells fargo bank, and i think it is morally repugnant, and it is time to get our money out of these banks. thank you. [bell rings] [applause] supervisor avalos: thank you. next. craigslist isn't yet a today i am here to speak about the impact of wells fargo's practices and investments in san

francisco and the grants. as you know, attacks against immigrants has gone through the passage of arizona's ab 1070 and the copycats that followed. these laws have legalized racial profiling in turn local police into ice agents. it is made is that they're less protections for immigrant communities. they have also damaged the trust between our communities and the police, which was still very small and took a lot of years to even bill. making their vulnerability even more so. these corporations have been at the forefront of this. i will talk about the connection to wells fargo as well. they seek to increase profit by capitalizing on this immigrant hatred and violence that is spreading, resulting in increased frustrations for workers, families, and it is that the taxpayer expense. it is impacting state and local government budgets.

this brings me back to wells fargo and its relationship to the g.o. group. the profit as a major investor and underwriter, a broker-dealer of shares, a trustee, documentation they do, dealer manager, and financial adviser. wells fargo paid lobbyists for policy-setting crestmoor immigrants and for-profit facilities. wells fargo made contributions to the arizona copycat in georgia. several politicians in the senate have voted in favor of this law and many others. [bell rings] wells fargo receive $43 billion in taxpayer bailout as to the government to aid people in mortgages, and they continue to foreclose on the homes of our working families. we want to encourage the city of san francisco to continue the legacy of supported working families and immigrants and the rights of all people and choose not to put the city's money anin

wells fargo. there sure similar 25% since may when we started the campaign for divestment. we encourage the city to continue on that. thank you. supervisor avalos: thank you. next speaker, please. [applause] >> supervisors. my name is francisco da costa. let me be very straightforward here. this hearing is about a banking system and how we can leverage our monies from the taxpayer and city revenues. having said that, supervisors, we did have a fairly good report from the treasurer, and i would say that even though he has not given his report, our a successor has done a pretty good job. but whenever i heard after that is fluff, and i will tell you why. supervisors, you know that since 1993, there has been a

division between the corporations and the people. and today, the 99 that you see protesting all over the world is talking about that. now we, supervisors, as a reno, -- as we know, who has created, who has lied, links to the subprime loans from derivatives, algorithms' -- as we know, who created the toxic loans? why do we want to have anything to do with them? that is the question. and your people come over here with different names, people who are alive with a rogue developer could you supervisors should be very careful not to deal with them. [bell rings] i am here to tell you the 99

that are protesting over there truly represent the people. and as for the police department, the mayor, at the controller, you, supervisors, and everyone else that can help the 99, to help them. we know where the toxic funds are. we need not to get anything to do with the crooks. thank you very much. [bell rings] supervisor avalos: thank you. next speaker, please. >> ♪ riders on the storm into this world we're born in the city you adorn riders on the storm there is nothing like a bank without a loan and snoop dogg without a bone i do not know where the money has gone

but it makes you kind of want to grown riders on the storm riders on the city storm ci-ci-city maybe you and i should be as one one ciy maybe you and i should be as one one ci-ci-city, maybe you and i should be s onas one oh would you like to ride in my beautiful tax balloon? way up in the air in my beautiful tax balloon we can float along the stars together you and i for we can fly we can fly high up

up and away [bell rings] away ♪ supervisor avalos: thank you. next speaker, please. [applause] >> hello. my name is joshua, now attending you see berkeley. i come to trade and shed some awareness on what is going on to the students who do receive financial aid. i, myself, like a lot of other students, through the blue and gold opportunity plan, students that receive under $80,000 through the system, receive full mike -- full financially for tuition, but when we talk about books, transportation, and living expenses, students have to take out loans. i am $30,000 in debt, and i have a subsidized loans. one is that 8.6% interest rate. because of this huge budget crisis we're in right now and financially being so overcrowded, students are having

to apply for budget appeal to receive these loans. it takes about three months to do this. meantime, students are taking on two jobs, in addition to taking on full course load at you see berkeley, which is pretty hard for students to get those types of grades. if students have aspirations to go to really give graduate programs and their grades are slipping because the financial crisis, they're not able to do that. it would be ideal to repeal , toprop 13 or something like that, but i feel like the banks need to pay their fair share. they are the ones providing these loans. they are going to hinder all these students when they get out of college, and we will not know how to pay these loans back. the banks need to pay their fair share. and so does the 1%. so thank you. supervisor avalos: thank you, next speaker. [applause] >> justice is not just for a few people or sometimes. justice is always and for everybody.

good afternoon. my name as jacqueline. i am a san francisco homeowner. [unintelligible] no longer representing the people. they became a mafia were they help each other in what people pay for it people get defaults and. [unintelligible] but they aren't three years -- is three years, and add zero more than the house's value for. and there will be able to modify, no mention to the balloon payment they have to pay. my case is not the only one in the action for the bank is

silence. we have to take care of the banks so we can make justice. thank you. [applause] >> hello. my name is ann darrow. this is my son. we're san francisco homeowners. we have applied for mortgage modifications through bank of america. we have been doing so since about six months after the death of my wife in 2008. initially bank of america said, no, it is a modification based on the fact we did not occupy the resident, which is untrue. we since then went to meta for help with mortgage modifications. they have said in the same things, repeated requests for the same document again and again. as of friday, people start knocking on our door at 12 noon, interested in the foreclosure

sale of was taking place that day. when i spoke to mr. rodriguez from meta later that afternoon, he informed me that the bank told him that the house was sold from under us to a third party. we were still in review for mortgage modifications. i understand this is in direct violation of federal law. if there were five criteria to be met for mortgage modifications, i believe my children and i met four, if not all five, and were in the process. someone else said they were in mortgage modifications purgatory. we are in hell. thank you. supervisor avalos: thank you. next speaker. >> thank you for the opportunity. i am with the mission of economic developing agency. my full time as for closure counseling. in the same way that banks are representative of their investors, i think that the city and county of san francisco is a representative for who was allowed to practice and carry on business in the city.

people look to the name of the lenders that is under mortgage statement. we're looking to the city to find out what these people are being allowed to carry on predatory loan practices just as much as they have in predatory loan modification practices. what i mean by that is there's a lot of modification being driven for the best interest of the investor, as opposed to the homeowners like jacqueline and like mr. davis. while being under review for the modification program of president obama, his house was for close on last friday. with the expiration coming up with making homes affordable, the only government modification program that is out there, that carries very little late in the san francisco market. the vast majority of san francisco loans are privately held, and it is are optional for them to weather the want to participate or not.

with the expiration of this program, with the budget cuts, to the housing counseling agencies to ourselves, we're basically left up to the mercy in the leniency of investors and bankers. there is no one there to police the lenders that are allowed to conduct their business in our city. [bell rings] the last speaker -- jacqueline's a dilemma is that it was evident that to under $50,000 was not taken. somebody is being prosecuted for that. yet, it continues to be a part of her unpaid principal balance. the idea, generally as an industry, as a mortgage industry, that we need to look and show, compel them to have more accountability to the way they're displacing families. [bell rings] especially communities of color, and how, if anything, efforts are being monitored as to what they're doing with their

practices in our city. thank you. supervisor avalos: thank you very much. next speaker. >> [speaking spanish] >> good afternoon, my name is -- [inaudible] [speaking spanish] i work with this cause, and for over a year i have been trying to modify my loan with bank of america. so for over a year, bank of america told me they would help me look modify my loan pitted to this point, there has been no evidence that they're going to

actually be able to do that. i am eligible for the program under the obama administration, but i have not seen any action. so in all of this, i have not received any help with modification. but i have received notices telling me that by november, if i am not able to pay off what they're telling me to pay off, then i will have a few days to get out of my house because they will be taking it from me.

it is not just me that is suffering this. this is having on a statewide level and a nationwide level. children are suffering from this. there are thousands of people who have taken their own lives because of the affected banks will not modify their loans. loan modification can happen, and it is just not. i have been working and saving money in the u.s. for over 38 years. in the time span of 12 months, all of that has been gone. my life has been completely destabilized, and there really has been no help.

this is, if we think about the millions of homes that are being foreclosed on, 3 million to four million homes, and then we say that there five people in a home, how many people then are being affected by this crisis? how many people are constantly in a state of crisis and not knowing what to do? [bell rings]