(Alan White, Consumer Law and Policy Blog) A long list of community development and housing activists gathered at the Chicago Fed’s meeting room this morning to testify about the impact of Countrywide Mortgage Company on their communities. After Bank of America’s customary recitation of its community lending, philanthropic activities and employee volunteerism, Rev. Jesse Jackson was the first public witness to take the microphone. Rev. Jackson described Countrywide, the largest mortgage lender in the U.S., as a symbol of the foreclosure crisis, Wall Street greed and the steering of minority homeowners to high cost loans for profit, a lending model he characterized as thievery and thuggery.  Read more.