Florida Burns Bank of America For Poor Mortgage Relief Record

The heat is growing on banks that refuse to offer mortgage relief to homeowners. The latest example: County commissioners in South Florida's Broward County said they rejected Bank of America (BAC) as a source of financing for a new courthouse because of the company's atrocious loan-modification record.

B of A had been in line to be one of several underwriters on the $208 million project. Not anymore. "There seems to be an insensitivity to the fact that people are hurting," Commissioner Stacy Ritter told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "That type of corporate mentality needs to change."

Last week, the Los Angeles city council voted unanimously to audit lenders' mortgage modification records, among other criteria, in deciding where to park municipal funds. New Mexico is considering a bill that would transfer state funds to small local banks.

It's often hard to distinguish good politics, as banks mount the populist whipping post, from good public policy. For instance, I'd be curious to know what those Broward County officials were doing all those years, while regional property values were bubbling away in Florida's hot-house real estate market.

Whatever the hypocrisies (of which there are plenty to go around), this is one brush-fire banks can't ignore. When the grassroots ignite, anything can happen.