Home Builders Protest
By RORY DEVINE
Updated 6:01 PM PST, Wed, Jan 14, 2009
A quiet protest took place in front of a bank in downtown San Diego Wednesday, with some home builders claiming banks are not doing enough to give loans to help them stay in business.
The Building Industry Coalition For Economic Recovery is made up of 165 home building companies from across the country and 60 other companies related to the home building industry. They say they would be able to survive if the banks would use the bailout money as intended. They protested to draw attention to what they say is the "bad behavior of banks who have pulled out of the home building industry. They've left their customers high and dry. "
A spokesperson for the California Bankers Association disputes that claim. Beth Miller says "Banks are making responsible loans when they can. Regulators have asked for tighter lending standards. No one in the end is going to benefit from making bad loans, and banks have done their part to try to turn the tide in this economic downturn."
She says FDIC statistics show banks gave 19 billion dollars more in loans during the first three quarters of 2008 than in all of 2007.
First Published: Jan 14, 2009 4:38 PM PST
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