A Separation of Church and Bank

There were more than 3,500 foreclosures in Father Eduardo Samaniego's San Jose parish in 2008. The banks were unwilling to work with the community to keep people in their homes, and the number of houses that were standing empty were becoming a blight on the community and devaluing the remaining homes.

Most of the mortgages were held by Bank of America—which also controlled the accounts of the church and its affiliated school.

So what did the congregation do? They divested the Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church's money from Bank of America and moved funds to a local credit union. The hope is that transferring the church's sizable accounts—totaling $3 million—will make Bank of America take note. 

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