As national news broke about Bank of America's agreement to pay $335 million to resolve discrimination allegations, Occupy Nevada County staged a demonstration in front of the Nevada City branch to express their dislike of the bank's practices on a local level.

Some of the protesters stood in front of the bank branch and chanted “Hey-hey, ho-ho, Bank of America has got to go,” while others voiced their outrage over a recent story that appeared in The Union, detailing how Bank of America took the home of Lou Conter, a 91-year-old war hero.

“I am concerned about people losing their houses,” said Sharon Delgado. “I am frustrated that Mr. Conter, a veteran, could lose his house like that.”

When asked why the protesters centered on Bank of America, Larry Starn provided a litany of reasons.

“They were part of the bailout and they refused to lend money right after they received a lot of government money,” he said. “They refused to work with people on the brink of foreclosure.”

Starn said he has heard numerous stories of how the bank will work with lenders to mitigate payments or strategically default and then foreclose upon them suddenly.

Conter, who has since moved into a new home, said his principal frustration is that he would constantly get passed around to different departments where he would receive assurances that his situation could be worked out before he received an abrupt notification of foreclosure.

“It's a criminal enterprise as far as I'm concerned,” Starn said. “Bank of America is leaving Nevada City and I say ‘Good riddance.'”

Law settlement

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that Bank of America filed a $335 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice for engaging in a pattern of discrimination against qualified African-American and Hispanic borrowers on home loans.

The DOJ said it was the largest settlement in history over residential fair lending practices.

According to DOJ's complaint, Countrywide charged more than 200,000 African-American and Hispanic borrowers higher fees and interest rates than non-Hispanic white borrowers with a similar credit profile.

The complaint states these borrowers were charged higher fees and rates because of their race or national origin rather than any other objective criteria.

“These institutions should make judgments based on applicants' creditworthiness, not on the color of their skin,” said Attorney General Eric Holder.

“With today's settlement, the federal government will ensure that the more than 200,000 African-American and Hispanic borrowers who were discriminated against by Countrywide will be entitled to compensation.”

Dan Frahm, a Bank of America spokesman, said in a statement that the bank does not practice lending based on race.

“We discontinued Countrywide products and practices that were not in keeping with our commitment and will continue to resolve and put behind us the remaining Countrywide issues,” Frahm said.

To contact Staff Writer Matthew Renda, e-mail mrenda@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4239.