The 13 congregations of the Brockton Interfaith Community (BIC) are taking on some pretty big opponents: Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and more. They’ve shown up at Bank of America meetings in California and North Carolina, even handed a list of complaints to BofA head Brian Moynihan himself. Angry about big banks’ role in the foreclosure crisis and economic slump, they’re fighting to get more troubled homeowners relief from impending foreclosure.

But their tactics will likely sound good to community banks and credit unions. BIC is threatening a walk-out in which Brockton’s residents move their cash to local institutions unless big banks adhere to their demands. And they say they’re not alone: BIC is one of more than a dozen similar organizations across the country using these tactics specifically to nudge banks to change their policies. Janine Carreiro, BIC’s leader, and volunteer Carol DeLorey have been leading the charge in Brockton.

Janine Carreiro

Title: Lead Organizer, Brockton Interfaith Community

Age: 28

Experience: 2 Years

Carol D. DeLorey

Title: Organizer, BIC Nehemiah

Age: 60

Experience: 12 Years

How did BIC get involved with this campaign?

Delorey: Out of [my work with] the Brockton Housing Partnership, five years ago, it became obvious to me we’re going into a foreclosure crisis. And the partnership stepped up, said, ‘OK, let’s do something,’ and we began a subcommittee from the partnership, which is now our Mayors Task Force on Foreclosure Prevention and Housing. And so we’ve worked hard for a long time, and in the meantime, the banks did nothing, to put it bluntly. …They’re not doing all that they could do to help fix this whole situation. They’re not stepping up and doing the modification. And we’re talking the national banks, here, not the local banks…. If the bank says, ‘We’ve done 1,000 or 2,000 foreclosure modifications,’ it’s nowhere near enough. And so the only thing left is to start to put on some pressure. And the biggest pressure that we feel that we can put on a bank is in their pocketbook.

So for example, Bank of America is on the hook for Countrywide’s bad loans because it inherited responsibility for them.

Carreiro: They bought them for a reason. They didn’t buy these loans because, ‘Oh, it’s the good-hearted thing to do,’ they bought these loans because they’re going to make money off of them.

Delorey: Then we bailed them out. We gave them a lot of money.….. They’re at a point where they’re worrying about their million-dollar salaries, and they’re not worrying about the school bus driver or the auto mechanic, or the guy who’s fixing their cars who doesn’t have a home.

So how is this campaign going to work, exactly? If people take their money out of Bank of America, how do they pick where else to put it?

Delorey: We’re gathering up all the information at this time on what the local banks offer. Meaning, if you have your checking account with Bank of America and you’re banking at half a percent interest on it, let’s say, maybe HarborOne or Northeastern Savings or whoever has that same rate, or they don’t have any ATM fees or whatever. So we’re trying to put that information together, and we’re going to put that out into our churches and other places in the city.

Carreiro: Our intention is, this is a strategy, we’re not asking people to just run out and take their money out right away. We want to help people, we want to make this as easy as possible. You’re going to be asked to fill out a divestment campaign [pledge card]. We have a divestment sheet, and on the sheet it has listed all the major banks, plus a line that says, ‘I am committing that I am taking my money out of this bank when the word is said.’

We’re going to wait until we go down [to the Bank of America shareholders’ meeting] on April 28, so we can be present to see how much change is going to happen…and if it’s enough, we won’t make the call. But if it’s not, then we’re going to get each of our 13 continental congregations and ask everyone who made that commitment to pull their money out.

So at that time, Brockton residents will do an en masse walk-out and head to their local bank.

Carreiro: We intend on taking this as far as we need. For us, it’s a win-win. Bank of America changes it policies, Wells Fargo changes its policies, Chase changes its policies, and our local banks also get some support.

Carreiro and Delorey’s Top Five demands for big banks: 

• Reduce principal. BIC wants to ensure Bank of America and other banks follow through on their promises to bring overall debt down.
• Increase transparency. Chase has adopted a system to record all steps in loan modifications. Other banks should follow suit.
• Manage cases. Borrowers should have a single contact person at their lender to handle all aspects of their case.
• Make temporary modifications permanent after three months.
• Follow the rules. New rules say a foreclosure must stop once a borrower goes into a modification. BIC wants to make sure lenders toe the line.