With the annual shareholders meeting of Bank of America taking place this week in Charlotte, N.C., a nationwide call went out among a variety of activist groups to hold protests.

Bank of America has been a target of many protests of late, especially for the Occupy Wall Street movement. Bank of America, along with Chase and other financial institutions, is now considered to be a leading cause of the nation’s financial collapse. The protest movements decided this year’s BoA shareholders meeting was an appropriate time for protesters to express their displeasure at how things have gone since 2008.

In Federal Way, about a dozen protesters from the Occupy Federal Way group took to the corner of 320th Street and Pacific Highway South on May 9 to protest Bank of America — and what they perceive as the bank’s predatory lending practices and its failure to properly serve customers in the wake of the financial collapse.

Holding signs with messages like “Bank of Un-America,” protesters peacefully made their voice heard outside the bank’s Federal Way branch, even under the wary eye of a Bank of America security guard. A number of passing cars honked in support of the protesters, with one having stopped at a red light to chat with Occupy Federal Way member Vin Rohm.

“Bank of America still owes us money!” the young lady said to Rohm, happily taking a leaflet other protesters were handing out.

Federal Way resident Diane Dobrowolski held a sign that said called Bank of America “the worst bank for America,” citing the bank’s role in the nation’s mass foreclosures.

“Bank of America epitomizes what corporate America does to the middle class,” she said.

According to various reports, the turnout in Charlotte was a little larger Wednesday than in Federal Way. Early reports out of Charlotte cited brief clashes between police and protesters, with one protester being arrested. For more information on Occupy Federal Way, visit www.facebook.com/occupyfederalway.