May 3, 2017 - Philadelphia Moves Towards Divesting from Wells Fargo

Philadelphia, PA – On May 1st, 2017, the City of Philadelphia moved closer towards ending its relationship with Wells Fargo. The City Council’s Committee on Finance unanimously voted to end its 48-year relationship with Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo currently oversees the city’s $2billion per-year employee payroll account.

The resolution was sponsored by Councilwoman Cindy Bass. In a statement Councilwoman Cindy Bass praised her colleagues for their vote, “As many of you know, I have been pushing for the city to divest from Wells Fargo for quite some time. Time and time again their actions have revealed them to be the antithesis of corporate social responsibility. I want to thank my colleagues on the committee for doing the right thing and sending a message that we will not do business with companies that engage in unethical business practices.”

Seattle, Los Angeles, San Fransisco, Missoula, the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, Davis, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, and the Mille Lacs Band Of Ojibwe have all divested from Wells Fargo due in large part to their financial backing of the Dakota Access pipeline and other unethical business pratices.

The bill will be up for a final vote by city council members next week, and if approved, Wells Fargo will provide a six-month period for the city to transition to Citizens Bank.

by Wakíƞyaƞ Waánataƞ (Matt Remle- Lakota)