The major banks have a policy toward widows who are behind on their payments, sometimes through no fault of their own, that is worthy of Joseph Heller's Catch-22: widows can't get the mortgage in their names until the payments are up to date, but they can't get their payments up to date until their mortgage is in their name.

Millions of women who are trying to catch up on payments after dealing with the deaths of their husbands are now trapped; they can't get current and the banks won't work with them to get them current. And then the banks foreclose on them.

The New York Times reported on the plight of Geraldine Bates, who lost her husband last year just after her husband entered into a loan modification agreement with HSBC. Geraldine notified the bank of her husband's death and sent in the first check. The bank returned her payment because she wasn't on the mortgage and now is threatening her with foreclosure, even while she continues to try to pay.

No one should lose their house like this.

Banks need to change their policies and stop trying to kick widows out of their houses for these outrageous reasons. Please sign this petition to demand that the Presidents of US Bank, HSBC, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America end this horrible practice and work with widows trying to make payments and keep those widows in their homes. We'll deliver your signature to the offices of these banks, and we'll send a copy of these to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The Corporate Action Network is an open platform for organizing fights against corporate abuse. The Home Defenders League sponsors this campaign, and your contact information will be shared with them for further updates on this and related campaigns. Thank you~