Iowa CCI members push Wells Fargo to stop financing payday lenders, win meeting

Oct 13, 2009 - Over sixty members of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI) protested at Wells Fargo's downtown Des Moines office today where they outlined the company's extensive and long-standing ties to the payday lending industry. Following the protest, Wells Fargo officials called the Iowa CCI office and agreed to a meeting between Wells Fargo's top Iowa official and CCI members.

CCI research shows that Wells Fargo has provided hundreds of millions of dollars to payday lenders including Ace Cash Express, Advance America, EZ Money, and others. This research also shows that payday lenders are overrunning low and moderate-income neighborhoods in Des Moines.

"It's an outrage that payday lenders can charge over 400 percent interest," said Ferol Wegner, CCI member from Des Moines. "I was shocked to learn that Wells Fargo has funded this practice for at least 10 years to the tune of well over one billion dollars."

Payday loans are loans with 400 percent or higher interest rates that are due in full in two weeks. Iowa CCI members say that these potentially dangerous products trap many customers in a cycle of debt that can be impossible to escape.

Through documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) filings, Wells Fargo has provided multi-million dollar lines of credit to at least nine payday lenders across the country. And, of the nine payday lending chains operated in the greater Des Moines area, six can trace their funding back to Wells Fargo, including Advance America, Ace Cash Express and Mister Money.

"We insist that those who provide lines of credit to the payday loan industry stop this practice immediately," said Mike McCarthy, CCI member of Des Moines. "Today we are presenting our demands to Wells Fargo because they are one of the largest providers of these lines of credit to this industry."

CCI members took their demands in the form of a letter to Scott Johnson, Iowa/Illinois Regional President of Wells Fargo, to the Wells Fargo office at 666 Walnut Street in downtown Des Moines. "We are asking you, as a leader of one of the largest banks operating in Iowa and across the country, to immediately stop financing the payday lending industry," read the letter. Within an hour of delivering the letter, CCI received a call from Wells Fargo officials to inform them that Scott Johnson would meet with a group of CCI members on Oct. 21 at 9:00 a.m.

Later this month on Oct. 25 & 26, CCI members will meet with thousands of others from community organizations across the country in Chicago to push for needed financial reform. Billed as the "Showdown in Chicago", grassroots groups plan to take to the streets and demand a banking system that puts the American people first.

* Please contact the CCI headquarters at 515-255-0800 for a copy of the research.

* Photos from today's events can be viewed at CCI's Flickr page.

Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement is a group of everyday people who talk, act and get things done on issues that matter most. With thousands of members from all walks of life -- urban and rural, black and white, immigrants and lifelong Iowans -- CCI has been tackling tough issues and getting things done for nearly 35 years.