(photos courtesy of www.beltwayimc.org)

Deutche Bank is the single largest shareholder in Apartment Investment and Management Co(AIMCO). This corporation is one of the largest stock-driven real estate firms(known as Real estate investment trusts or REIT's) in the US-and Deutche Bank is their largest shareholder.

AIMCO, in turn, has been responsible for such things as the largest mass eviction in that city's history at a comnplex called Lincoln Place, locking everyone out just before Christmas. Given that they are buying up housing all over DC and the nation, this is a mortal threat to the right to have a home priced at less than say, $700,000.

This, in turn, violates the UN Global Compact on Corporate Social Responsibility- which Deutche Bank has proclaimed their support for. Therefore, NAHT is asking Deutche Bank to remind AIMCO of this compact and if necessary to divest themselves of AIMCO stock. Even the threat of this could be enough to force AIMCO to stop clearing buildings of low income tenants.

As a result, Deutche Bank has been identified as one of the single biggest profiteers on the conversion of low income housing into market-rate housing in the entire US. You see, that is what AIMCO does-buying up HUD subsidized housing, removing it from the program and renovating the buildings-and then reselling to upscale buyers at market rate!

With Deutche Bank being headquartered in Germany, this is a prime example of the globalized misery the G-8 summits are intended to spread. At first, they denied even HAVING an office in DC-but activists found it. Next, they claimed it was a one-person skeleton office-but 1399 NY Ave actually contains their US lobbying headquarters with at least 25 employees!

Today they feel the heat in DC, tomorrow they will feel the heat in Rostock, Germany. A solidarity protest supporting US housing protests against AIMCO is planned for then and there.