Bank of America Concerns
Concerns about Bank of America
The following is from an Occupy Portland flyer.
- Charging $5 a month to spend our own money!
After Congress ordered BofA and other large banks to stop gouging business owners and customers with hidden credit card fees, BofA announced a new fee for debit cards. Many credit unions and community banks have stated they won’t change you for using your debit card.
Note: BofA has revoked this fee because of public pressure, but they are expected to find other ways to extract this money from consumers.[1]
- Cuts for the 99%, Bonuses for the 1%
BofA plans to lay off 30,000 workers[2], but it was estimated they just paid their investment bankers an average of $400,000 dollars a piece in bonuses[3], they paid their CEO a 9 million dollar bonus, and gave the investment head $14.3 million in stock and $900,000 in cash awards[4]
- BofA is at the heart of the foreclosure crisis!
Tens of thousands of Oregonians have lost their homes, but banks spend millions on lobbying aimed at dodging any accountability for the financial devastation they’ve caused. As just one example, Bank of America has agreed to pay a $20 million settlement to resolve allegations it improperly foreclosed on about 160 homes of military service personnel.[5]
- BofA paid no income tax.
According to the Charlotte Observer[6], “the bank had no federal income tax expense for a second straight year. The bank says the reason is simple: Corporations pay taxes on their profits, and Bank of America posted a pre-tax loss of $5.4 billion in the U.S. in 2010.” And yet, Bank of America just announced to its investors that it made $6.2 billion dollars *this quarter*.[7]
Note: it is currently assumed Bank of America will continue to carry forward their earlier losses, and that they will continue to avoid paying taxes into the foreseeable future.
- Fees, fees, and more fees!
BofA just raised its MyAccess[8] checking fee to $12[9], there’s already a $35 overdraft fee [10], and next year, it is said the most basic account will have a mandatory $6 monthly minimum fee. Banks are expected to earn more than 16 billion in profit from overdraft fees this year[11].
Those fees aren’t the cost of business, they are making money off you pure and simple.
External Links
References
- ↑ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/01/bank-of-america-debit-card-fee_n_1069425.html
- ↑ http://abcnews.go.com/Business/bank-america-layoff-30000-workers/story?id=14500577
- ↑ http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aB9F9yg63I0o
- ↑ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/31/AR2011013105314.html
- ↑ http://articles.latimes.com/2011/may/26/business/la-fi-military-foreclosure-fines-20110526
- ↑ http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/03/25/2170576/no-federal-tax-expense-for-bofa.html#ixzz1c34XlIZ1
- ↑ http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/03/25/2170576/no-federal-tax-expense-for-bofa.html#ixzz1c34XlIZ1
- ↑ http://promo.bankofamerica.com/myaccess
- ↑ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/05/AR2011010505358.html
- ↑ http://www.bankofamerica.com/deposits/checksave/index.cfm?template=lc_faq_overdraft
- ↑ http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/overdraft-fees-the-dough-keeps-rolling-in-10202011.html