BofA Severs Ties With ACORN

Bank of America has cut off ties with ACORN’s housing assistance arm following revelations that employees of the community organizing group gave ill-advised assistance to videographers posing as a pimp and prostitute. ACORN Housing has worked with BofA—among other banks—since the '90s to help homeowners in danger of foreclosure. The bank has “suspended current commitments” to ACORN, a spokesman tells the Wall Street Journal.

BofA will also “not enter into any further agreements with ACORN or any of its affiliates.” ACORN and ACORN Housing are separate organizations, though they sometimes share office space. The organization has picked a former Massachusetts AG to investigate the “abhorrent” activity, and appeared to take the news in stride. “We're not surprised that our lending partners like Bank of America want assurances that this won't happen again,” its director says. (More Scott Harshbarger stories.)