from SF Chronicle, 2/8:
Wells Fargo loses funds
The Seattle City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to withdraw $3 billion in city operating funds from San Francisco’s Wells Fargo in response to the bank’s financial backing of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
The city will open a bidding process to find a new bank to hold its funds, but the new ordinance more widely aims to strengthen policies for conducting business “with partners that are committed to fair business practices.”
“The city must trust the practices and integrity of the institutions that handle our public funds,” Councilwoman Debra Juarez said in a statement Friday.
In October, Seattle canceled a $100 million bond deal with Wells Fargo, citing the bank’s practice of opening deposit and credit accounts without customer knowledge. Juarez called the bond cancellation “a drop in a very big bucket,” but added that withdrawing all city funds is a bigger hit to the bank.
Co-sponsored by Kshama Sawant and Tim Burgess, the ordinance passed out of committee on an 8-0 vote. Outside City Hall, people rallied in support of the vote.
Many in Seattle have protested the Dakota Access Pipeline, prompting the move to cut all ties with Wells Fargo because it has backed the project.