VIDEO: Thousands Protest Bank of America in Boston

Thousands of people marched through Downtown Crossing Friday, halting traffic and protesting Bank of America and other major financial institutions. Twenty-four Boston residents were arrested at the end of the demonstration, when protesters surrounded Bank of America's Boston headquarters on Federal Street.

Among the arrested were local families facing foreclosure, according to MassUniting, a Charlestown-based coalition that helped organize the protest.

Bank of America has increased its number of foreclosures on distressed homeowners in recent weeks, according to new data from the foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac. August 2011 saw the largest monthly increase in foreclosures since August 2007.

MassUniting said 3,000 people participated in the demonstration on Friday -- a signal, organizers say, of outrage at the ongoing recession and mortgage crisis.

You can read a statement from organizers here. The demonstration was directed by Take Back Boston.