City of Milwaukee Common Ground Deutsche Bank
May 27th, 2010
Common Ground, a Wisconsin citizens housing organization, requested a meeting with Deutsche bank management regarding the bank's foreclosed home portfolio.
Common Ground targets Deutsche Bank's Milwaukee portfolio of foreclosed homes
Common Ground Wisconsin, a southeastern Wisconsin citizens housing organization, wants to talk with management of Duetsche Bank regarding the bank's portfolio of foreclosed homes in Milwaukee and address the condition of the houses.
Common Ground Wisconsin, a southeastern Wisconsin citizens housing organization, is working with the German Consulate in Chicago to deliver a letter to Deutsche Bank detailing the foreclosure crisis in Milwaukee and to obtain a meeting with Deutsche Bank executives.
More than 40 members of Common Ground Wisconsin traveled to the Chicago Consulate May 18 with their request to open a dialog with the Germany-based bank. So far, Common Ground has been turned away by bank officials. Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank are meeting with Common Ground leaders to find solutions to Milwaukee’s foreclosure crisis.
Deutsche Bank is one of three banks Common Ground has been negotiating with that hold mortgages or are the trustees for more than 25 percent of foreclosed houses in Milwaukee. Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank are also meeting with Common Ground leaders to find solutions to Milwaukee’s foreclosure crisis.
Many of these foreclosed properties are vacant, abandoned, deteriorated and devaluing properties throughout the region, according to a Common Ground Wisconsin spokeswoman.
Common Ground’s team leader, Bob Connolly, met with Deputy German Consul Roland Hermann and asked him to deliver a letter to Joseph Ackermann, chairman of Deutsche Bank. The letter requests a meeting between Deutsche Bank leaders and Common Ground representatives, who will be in attendance of Deutsche Bank’s annual shareholder’s meeting on May 27, 2010.
Additionally, reporter Dorthea Hahn from the Berlin, Germany, newspaper Die Tageszeitung, or TAZ, is in Milwaukee Friday to meet with Common Ground leaders and view some of the vacant, deteriorating Deutsche Bank homes in Milwaukee.
Common Ground was founded in 2004 when a group of 38 religious, civic and business leaders raised $700,000 in seed money to launch the organization, which was known as Greater Milwaukee Sponsors. The seed money came from the congregations and religious groups affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church, Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, Presbyterian Church, Episcopal Church and United Church of Christ.
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