Campaign to Oppose Bank Loans to South Africa
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CAMPAIGN TO OPPOSE BANK LOANS TO SOUTH AFRICA 198 Broadway, Room 402, New York, N.Y. 10038 (212) 962-1210 November, 1979 Dear Friend: Enc 1osed p1 eas·e find a brochure from the Campaign to Oppose Bank Loans to South Afri~a (COBLSA). This is a coalition of church, trade union, student and other community organizations in the United States--there are similaFmovements in Canada and Europe--that are working towards the end of bank loans to South Africa. South Africa is the only country in the world that still practices legalized and institutionalized racism. This policy is called apartheid (absolute apartness of blacks and -whites). The Campaign is sponsored by Clergy and Laity Concerned (CALC) and the American Committee on Africa (ACOA). Several kinds of actions have been taken against the banks making loans to South Africa. They include withdrawal of accounts, pension funds, picketing, leafleting and meeting with bank executives (see brochure). In the past two years $275 million has been withdrawn by individuals and organizations from banks lending to South Africa. The brochure lists--state by state--the banks and brokerage houses responsible for these loans. We are appealing to you to use this brochure as a source of information and encourage you to take actions such as: *Asking your bank manager whether any loans are made to South Africa, and if so, to whom and when they were made; *Find out what is your bank's policy regarding loans to Sputh Africa; *Ask where your organization--church or union--deposits its funds and . *Find out where your pension fund is invested. The Campaign publishes. a national newsletter. We would like to receive whatever information you have from your bank and also about activities in your area. If you need any information, please feel free to write or call me. Yours tru_ly, Du~~ P.S. Here is how to order more brochures: ******Send me copies of brochures (50 or more at 5¢ each) DSK:jwb Enc. National Sponsors: American Committee on Africa/Clergy and Laity Concerned/Coordinator: D.S. Kumalo U.S. Banks Finance Apartheid Is Your Money Used To Support Racism? Flight of Capital Over 125 United States banks (see list) lend mil· lions of dollars annually to South Africa. Since 1972, $3-billion is known to have gone to finance the only country in the world that practices legalized and institutionalized racism. Most of these banks financing the most blatant and brutal of racial discrimination, are the ones denying mortgage loans to our neighborhoods. This practice is called redlining. A typical example is that of five New York City neighborhoods, Harlem, South Bronx, Bedford Stuyvesant, Crown Heights and Brownsville. The residents of these predominantly black and His· panic areas invest in five of the biggest banks in the United States-Citibank, Manufacturers Han· over, Chase Manhattan, Chemical Bank and Bank· ers Trust. In 1977, these five banks held deposits totalling $971-million. Yet, in return, the five neighborhoods owning these funds received a TOTAL of only $8· million in mortgage loans. Meanwhile, Citibank has participated in loans to South Africa amounting to $1.6-billion! What is Being Financed South Africa is the most despicable regime in the world because its laws are based on color. It is the only nation that has a Race Classification Board. The mere complexion of an individual decides be tween doom and privilege. Four million whites monopolize the voting system and have passed hundreds of laws, decrees and acts that deny 22 million blacks the most elementary forms of human rights. Blacks are legally classified as non-citizens in their own country. They are forced to carry passes which are documents restricting their freedom and movement. According to the government's own re ports, 600,000 men and women serve time in jail each year for pass offenses. The military budget is $3-billion. Yet eight out of 10 black children die before the age of two because of malnutrition and other hunger-related diseases. Meanwhile, the whites in South Africa enjoy the highest living standards in the world. And the government explicitly states that the country is for whites only. HERE ARE THE BIG LENDERS Here is a state by state listing of banks making loans to South Africa. OREGON ALABAMA ILLINOIS NEBRASKA First National Bank City National Bank Central National Bank First National Bank Bank of California Merchants National Bank Continental Bank Northwestern Bank United States National Bank ARIZONA First National Bank United States National Bank PENNSYLVANIA The Arizona Bank Harris Trust and Savings Center Bank Fidelity Bank First National Bank Northern Trust First Northwestern Trust First Pennsylvania Bank Northern Trust American National Bank NEVADA Girard Trust Bank Northwestern Trust INDIANA Bank of Nevada Philadelphia National Bank CALIFORNIA Indiana National Bank First National Bank Mellon Bank Security Pacific National Bank Merchants National Bank and NEW JERSEY Pittsburgh Bank United California Trust New Jersey Bank Provident National Bank Bank of America KENTUCKY NEW MEXICO RHODE ISLAND Crocker National Bank First National Bank Bank of New Mexico Industrial National Bank Wells Fargo Kentucky Trust First State Bank SOUTH DAKOTA COLORADO LOUISIANA New Mexico Bank and Trust First National Bank American National Bank First National Bank of Roswell State Bank Northwestern Bank Continental National Bank Commerce Santa Fe National Bank First Northwestern Trust First National Bank MARYLAND NEW YORK TENNESSEE CONNECTICUT Equitable Trust Manufacturers Hanover Commerce Un1on Bank Connecticut Bank and Trust Columbia Bank and Trust Citibank Citizens Bank Union Trust Farmers and Merchants Bank Chemical Bank TEXAS Hartford National Corp. Truckers and Savings Bank Bankers Trust First National Bank DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA University National Bank Bank of New York Republic National Bank Riggs Bank Maryland National Bank Chase Manhattan Houston National Bank FLORIDA MASSACHUSETTS Morgan Guaranty UTAH Southeast First National Bank First National Bank Irving Trust Walker Bank and Trust Security Trust MICHIGAN NORTH CAROLINA WASHINGTON STATE GEORGIA City National Bank North Carolina Bank Pacific National Bank Citizens and Southern Bank Bank of Lansing Wachovia Bank and Trust Bank of California First National Bank First Citizens Bank NORTH CAROLINA Peoples Bank Trust Company Bank First Nat1onal Bank First Northwestern Trust Rainer Bank IDAHO National Bank of Rochester OHIO Seattle First National Bank Bank of Idaho Union National Bank and Central National Bank VIRGINIA IOWA Trust Cleveland Trust United Virginia Bank Merchants National Bank MINNESOTA National City Bank WISCONSIN Union Bank and Trust First National Bank Huntington National Bank First Wisconsin Bank Council Bluffs Bank Northwestern Bank Winters National Bank WYOMING First National Bank MISSOURI Sutton State Bank First National Bank Key City Bank and Trust Mercantile Trust Euclid National Bank First Trust and Savings Bank MONTANA Farmers and Savings Bank Bank of Glacier County Conrad National Bank Montana Bank Northwestern Union Trust The brokerage houses are also among the big lenders. These include: MERRILL LYNCH KIDDER PEABODY DEAN WITTER LAZARD FRERES DILLION READ & CO ~~li~~~ LEHMAN BROS FIRST BOSTON INC LOEB RHOADES GOLDMAN SACHS MORGAN STANLEY BLYTH EASTMAN DILLION PAINE WEBBER INC J. HENRY SCHRODER SALOMON BROTHERS BROWN BROTHERS HARRIMAN & CO SMITH BARNEY HARRIS & CO Why Be Involved The major reason for involvement is that it is YOUR MONEY that is being used to finance racial discrimination. Secondly, South Africa is an invest ment risk because of apartheid, which is threaten ing to tear the country apart in a violent confronta tion. Thirdly, the black people inside and outside the country are involved in an ongoing struggle for their freedom. The killing by the police of 1,200 children in Soweto in June 1976 and the rising deaths in detention that included the murder of Steve Biko, have not made the situation more controllable. Instead the struggle has continued. What Can Be Done Many people in the United States and Canada have formed action groups composed of churches, trade unions, academics, politicans, students and private citizens to force banks to stop making loans to South Africa. Some banks have since declared publicly that they would make no further loans to South Africa until the race laws are changed. However, others have not stuck to their proclamations. Instead they have continued lending by using other South African banks as "correspondents." One such bank used for this correspondent relationship is Volkskas - ["white nation's cashbox"], a South African govern - ment-created bank for the police, military and army. Partial List of Withdrawals Over $275 million has been withdrawn in the past - two years from United States and Canadian banks making loans to South Africa. Here is a list of the - latest withdrawals: • January 1, 1979, Canada Union of Public Em ployes withdrew $3-million from the Imperial Bank of Commerce in Toronto, Canada. • April1979, Yale University sold stock worth $1.6- million from J.P. Morgan and Company and with drew $2-million from Manufacturers Hanover - Trust Bank in New York. • April1979, the city of Berkeley voted in a referen dum to withdraw $1D-million from banks in Cali fornia. • May 1, 1979, Dawson College withdrew $25-million from Bank of Montreal, Canada. • June 1979, California Nurses Association withdrew $1D-million from Wells Fargo Bank, California. Other Actions Several kinds of actions have been taken against the offending banks. In Eugene, Oregon, the People for Southern African Freedom organized a demon stration outside US National Bank of Oregon that drew retired senior citizens, trade unionists, workers, church people and students. By the end of the day, the bank president admitted that $300,000 had been withdrawn. US National Bank later made a policy statement that no further loans would be made and even promised to sell its stock in the Private Export Funding Corporation (PEFCO), a consortium that makes loans to South Africa.