FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jennifer Wallace: 302.588.6919 or jenwallace@comcast.net

April 23, 2012

Banksleep: a new “sleepful” protest by Occupy Delaware aims to bring attention to Bank of America. Corruption.

WILMINGTON, DE. Armed with sleeping bags and signs, members of Occupy Delaware will be participating in their first Banksleep Protest on Monday, April 23, 2012. Banksleep, a “sleepful” protest, is the latest tactic used by Occupiers in cities like Philadelphia, Washington DC and at OWS to protest the inequities of our current economic reality and the part the banking industry has played in creating this scenario.

Occupy Delaware members will be holding Banksleep actions one night per week and will be rotating their protests at various banks throughout Wilmington, where they plan to spend the night. The group will be focusing on the TBTF banks and especially those that participated in the mortgage foreclosure crisis. According to a recent National Consumer Law Center Special Report, an estimated 16.7 million families will lose their homes due to foreclosure before the current foreclosure crisis is over, or to put it in other terms, 14.6 percent of American households will be foreclosed upon.

The first target bank will be the giant of the banking world, Bank of America. Starting at 9 pm, there will be a Pajama March from Spencer Plaza (800 N. French St.) to the Bank of America location at 1100 North King Street, where those participating plan on spending the night on the sidewalk.

Bank of America was chosen as the first target because it is the worst-of-the worst among the TBTF banks and has been charged with a dizzying array of of misdeeds. It was the first bank to get involved in the sub-prime mortgage business and it was one of the main culprits of the robo-signing scandal. It also paid out billions in settlements for everything from rigging municipal bond transfers to illegally booting military personnel from their homes during foreclosures. Bank of America has also received bailouts to the tune of $230 billion.

And to add insult to injury, BofA paid zero federal taxes in 2011. In fact, they received a $1 billion dollar refund, which they claimed was due to pretax losses of $5.4 billion in 2010, but during that same year they paid out $35 billion in bonuses and compensation. Additionally, according to the Economic History Association, Bank of America is largely responsible for the push to end the interstate restrictions of the Bank Holding Company Act, which was the death knell for local community banks and the beginning of an era of the largest banks the world has ever seen.

Future actions planned by Occupy Delaware members, include: the May 5th Occupy the Community event to support growth and reconnection with our communities. Additionally, there is a planned bus trip to take members to NYC to participate in the May 1st General Strike protests that are planned in cities throughout the world.

Occupy Delaware comprises a broad variety of voices. Anyone in Delaware who is fed up with a national agenda that is rigged in favor of the wealthiest one percent at the expense of the other ninety-nine percent is welcome to participate. Occupy Delaware does not endorse political candidates or parties.

NCLC Special Report: Rebuilding America: http://www.nclc.org/foreclosures-and-mortgages/rebuilding-america.html
Economic History Association Website: http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/doti.banking.western.us
Occupy Delaware Webpage: http://www.occupyde.org
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/occupydelaware
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/OccupyDE
Occupy Delaware Mission Statement: http://www.occupyde.org/mission-statement/
Declaration of the Occupation of New York City (Occupy Wall Street):

http://occupywallst.org/forum/first-official-release-from-occupy-wall-street/.

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