Truthout
Banks
![(L-R) Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan) and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts) attend a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol on March 11, 2021 in Washington, D.C.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2021/09/2021_0916-tlaib-and-pressley-news-conference-400x300.jpg)
Tlaib and Pressley File Bill to Force Fed to Divest Banks From Fossil Fuels
The bill requires the Fed to ensure bank financing projects are in line with the U.S.’s climate commitments.
![Protesters hold a sign reading "AIG: STOP INSURING THE CLIMATE CRISIS" during an outdoor protest](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2021/08/2021_0901-aig-climate-400x300.jpg)
IPCC Findings Illustrate Need for Banks and Insurers to Divest From Fossil Fuels
Financial institutions must take rapid, aggressive action to decarbonize our economy.
![People wearing protective masks walk from a Walmart store on May 18, 2021, in Hallandale Beach, Florida.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1318710655-400x300.jpg)
Predatory Banks at Walmarts Made Over 100 Percent of Profits From Overdraft Fees
Banks that earn most of their income from overdraft fees resemble payday lenders more than traditional banks.
![A man leafs through hundred dollar bills in an envelope](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2020/04/2020_0422-money-400x300.jpg)
$300 Million in COVID-19 Aid Went Directly to Corporations Over Small Businesses
Multiple class-action lawsuits allege big banks prioritized corporate greed by putting big firms first in line.
![A line of people wraps around the Banco Popular in San Juan on September 25, 2017, nearly one week after Hurricane Maria devastated the island of Puerto Rico.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2020/01/2020_0123-banco-popular-400x300.jpg)
Following Earthquake, Puerto Rico’s Largest Bank Hinders a Just Recovery
Hundreds of vacant residences that were repossessed by the banks could be used to house 6,400 displaced people.
![People walk by the New York Stock Exchange on October 1, 2019, in New York City.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2019/11/2019_1111-nyse-400x300.jpg)
Banks Use Public Credit Backed by Public Funds to Feed Bottom Lines
Some experts believe bankers are depriving small businesses of affordable loans in order to line their own pockets.
![Federal Reserve Building](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2019/10/GettyImages-113690314-400x300.jpg)
The Federal Reserve Was Set Up to Provide Capital to Largest Wall Street Banks
The Fed has paid Wall Street banks to effectively purchase the government's debt.
![Trump’s Inner Circle Used the 2008 Housing Crash to Get Rich](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2019/10/SEG2-Glantz-Book-Split-400x300.jpg)
Trump’s Inner Circle Used the 2008 Housing Crash to Get Rich
Much of the so-called recovery is a result of large private equity firms buying up foreclosed homes.
![The Marriner S. Eccles building of the United States Federal Reserve in Washington, D.C., on July 24, 2017.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2019/10/GettyImages-929753688-400x300.jpg)
Let’s Not Wait for the Next Crisis to Nationalize Wall Street Banks
It's time for quantitative easing, but for the people instead of the powerful.
![Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg joins a protest by climate activists near UN headquarters on August 30, 2019, in New York.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2019/09/2019_0910-greta-thunberg-400x300.jpg)
Greta Thunberg on Climate: “If We Can Save the Banks, We Can Save the World”
"The money is there. What we lack now is political will and social will,” Thunberg said.