Bank Of America In Trouble?
March 12, 2012 by admin
Filed under News Stories
March 13, 2012
Rolling Stone
By Matt Taibbi
It looks like Bank of America might have started circling the drain before the Occupy movement even had a chance to launch its campaign against the company. For weeks now there have been ominous signs of trouble at the bank, and yesterday we heard yet another dark piece of news.
Last year, there was an uproar when Bank of America announced a plan to slap customers with a monthly $5 fee for debit card usage. The bank eventually backed off that plan when the public and some politicians cried foul.
Now it seems the company is going to try to put a new package on the same crappy idea and sell it again. This time, the plan is to add charges that range from $6 to $25 a month. From an MSNBC report:
Pilot programs in Arizona, Georgia and Massachusetts are experimenting with charging $6 to $9 a month for what’s called an “Essentials” account. Other account options being tested in those states carry monthly charges of $9, $12, $15 and $25, but give customers opportunities to avoid the payments by maintaining minimum balances, using a credit card or taking a mortgage with Bank of America, according to an internal memo cited by the [Wall Street] Journal.
It’s a very bad sign that a bank is in a desperate cash crunch when it tries repeatedly to gouge its customers. David Trainer, an analyst for Market Watch, a WSJ publication, wrote that the new fees are a sign of series trouble at BAC. He writes:
Click here for the full report.
Mass Banking Resignations Signal A Purging Has Begun?
March 6, 2012 by admin
Filed under News Stories
March 6, 2012
Activist Post
By Brandon Turbeville
According to a list compiled by independent blog, American Kabuki, at least 122 banking directors, CEOs, and board members of both national and international stature have resigned since September of last year. The blog recently posted a list of all 122 of these individuals with links to the announcements and reports of their resignation.
The fact that banks have been reshuffling their personnel is, of course, nothing new. However, 122 resignations does seem like a large number, particularly when one realizes that many of these resignations are coming from relatively large institutions.
As a result, there has been much speculation and concern on the part of many observers as to what these shifts actually mean.
While it should be mentioned that the list contains resignations from some institutions that are relatively small in terms of international finance, one might also do well to remember that banks, insurance companies, corporations, and governments are often tied together by a seemingly infinite number of spiderweb connections that only become visible as certain parts of the financial relationships are unearthed.
To be clear, this writer is not suggesting that every single bank included in this list is part of a criminal conspiracy, cover-up, or act of misconduct. In fact, I am not suggesting that any of them are. However, when it comes to some institutions such as the World Bank or the Bank of England, the history of treachery is obvious and should be kept in mind as you draw your own conclusions.
In fact, it is the resignations taking place amidst these larger institutions that should be a cause for greater concern in the first place.
Indeed, the number of resignations taking place amongst large institutions such as CitiBank, Lloyds Banking Group, UBS, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and JP Morgan alone should be enough to turn some heads.
But there is also an alarming number of central banks included on this list as well. Perhaps the most surprising is the fact that Phillip Hildebrand, the head of Switzerland’s central bank, recently handed in his resignation. Not only that, but there have been resignations coming from several other central banks including Argentina, Kuwait, Nicaraqua, and Kenya.
Click here for the full report.
Romney Collects More in Donations From the Five Biggest Banks Than All Other Candidates Combined
January 30, 2012 by admin
Filed under News Stories
January 30, 2012
Truth Out
By Pat Garofalo
“Why would anyone even consider voting for Mitt Romney?” –KTRN
Mitt Romney has been leading the way in the 2012 presidential race when it comes to donations from Wall Street, pulling in millions from the financial sector since he launched his campaign. And the industry’s favor for Romney comes across even more when looking at just the five biggest banks in the U.S.: JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and Goldman Sachs
In fact, as McClatchy News noted, Romney has received more in donations from employees of the nation’s five biggest banks than all of the other presidential candidates combined:
Employees at the five largest U.S. banks by assets, including Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co., had given Romney about $600,000 through the first three quarters of 2011, according to the most recent filings available from the Federal Election Commission.
Click here for the full report.
The Kevin Trudeau Show: 1-28-12
You will not believe what the drug companies get away with! KT explains what Big Pharma is doing to get their drugs to the mass market. Plus, Jon Rappoport stops by to blow the whistle on government corruption and media lies!
Self Help:
Your Wish Is Your Command
Health
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Romney and Obama Share Same Bankster Campaign Contributors
January 18, 2012 by admin
Filed under News Stories
January 18, 2012
Prison Planet
By Kurt Nimmo
“The saying ‘politicians are all the same’ rings true here.” –KTRN
Like Obama, Mitt Romney is a wind-up doll for Wall Street and the bankers. There is virtually no difference between them despite all the fetid air from the GOP propaganda machine.
This is revealed by a quick look at Romney’s top contributors. An Open Secrets page on top Romney contributors reads like a Who’s Who of Wall Street and the financial cartel. The top contributor is Goldman Sachs, followed by Credit Suisse Group, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, UBS, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Barclays – major players in the Wall Street and City of London bankster constellation.
Bain Capital is also on the list. It is a “financial services” and investment firm co-founded by Romney. Bain owns the establishment media propaganda conglomerate Clear Channel, which explains why “conservative” talk show hosts like Limbaugh, Hannity and Levin are supporting Romney, especially with the strong showing of Ron Paul in the primaries. Both Savage (real name Weiner) and Levin have gone so far as to call Paul a threat to the country.
In December, Mitt refused to release the identity of his “bundlers,” or people who gather contributions from many individuals in an organization or community and give the cash to the campaign.
In other words, the above list is only the tip of the iceberg. Romney’s lack of transparency about his bundlers indicates he is getting money from sources that want their identity concealed.
In November, it was reported that Jimmy Lee, a veteran Wall Street investment banker, and three other top executives at JPMorgan Chase & Co hosted a $2,500-per-person reception for Romney.
“I am committed to doing all that I can to help his campaign because I also believe he is the strongest challenger to President Obama,” Lee told Reuters. Lee said he has known Romney for almost all of his Wall Street career and that he made one of the first loans to Romney at Bain Capital.
Click here for the full report.
5 Ways to Make Banks Pay for Their Secret $7 Trillion Free Ride
December 8, 2011 by admin
Filed under News Stories
December 8, 2011
Alter Net
By Eliot Spitzer
Imagine you walked into a bank, applied for a personal line of credit, and filled out all the paperwork claiming to have no debts and an income of $200,000 per year. The bank, based on these representations, extended you the line of credit. Then, three years later, after fighting disclosure all the way, you were forced by a court to tell the truth: At the time you made the statements to the bank, you actually were unemployed, you had a $1 million mortgage on your house on which you had failed to make payments for six months, and you hadn’t paid even the minimum on your credit-card bills for three months. Do you think the bank would just say: Never mind, don’t worry about it? Of course not. Whether or not you had paid back the personal line of credit, three FBI agents would be at your door within hours.
Yet this is exactly what the major American banks have done to the public. During the deepest, darkest period of the financial cataclysm, the CEOs of major banks maintained in statements to the public, to the market at large, and to their own shareholders that the banks were in good financial shape, didn’t want to take TARP funds, and that the regulatory framework governing our banking system should not be altered. Trust us, they said. Yet, unknown to the public and the Congress, these same banks had been borrowing massive amounts from the government to remain afloat. The total numbers are staggering: $7.7 trillion of credit—one-half of the GDP of the entire nation. $460 billion was lent to J.P. Morgan, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley alone—without anybody other than a few select officials at the Fed and the Treasury knowing. This was perhaps the single most massive allocation of capital from public to private hands in our history, and nobody was told. This was not TARP: This was secret Fed lending. And although it has since been repaid, it is clear why the banks didn’t want us to know about it: They didn’t want to admit the magnitude of their financial distress.
Click here for the full report.
Kucinich: Federal Reserve Has Captured Control Of Our Government
November 30, 2011 by admin
Filed under News Stories
November 30, 2011
The Raw Story
By Eric W. Dolan
“Does you think Dennis Kucinich secretly supports Ron Paul?” –KTRN
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) called for the U.S. Federal Reserve to be reformed after Bloomberg reported the central bank secretly loaned nearly $8 trillion to financial institutions from 2007 to 2009.
Tens of thousands of documents obtained by Bloomberg under the Freedom of Information Act showed that banks reaped an estimated $13 billion in profits thanks to the low-interest loans. JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley accounted for $4.8 billion of that total.
“Remember the great debate we had here over the 700 billion in TARP funds?” he said on the House floor Tuesday. “There was no debate over the 7.7 trillion the Fed gave the banks.”
“Did Congress have a clue?” he continued. “There is another game going on way over our heads, and our constituents are struggling while the banks with the help of the Feds have captured control of our government.”
“Now the rating services are threatening us, if we don’t come up with a deal they’ll downgrade U.S. debt. Could the threat to our national sovereignty be any clearer?”
Kucinich has proposed legislation, called the National Emergency Employment Defense (NEED) Act, that would incorporate the Federal Reserve within the United States Treasury and thereby make it accountable to Congress.
Click here for the full report and video.
The Kevin Trudeau Show: 11-12-11
You will not believe what the drug companies get away with! KT explains what Big Pharma is doing to get their drugs to the mass market. Plus, Jon Rappoport stops by to blow the whistle on government corruption and media lies!
Self Help:
Your Wish Is Your Command
Deer Antler Velvet
Health
Big Pharma Researcher Admits to Faking Research!
EU Bans Chemical BPA in Baby Bottles
Mylanta Recall Adds to Johnson & Johnson Woes
Government
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Better Business Bureau Issues Mea Culpa for Pay-to-Play Ratings
Wealth
How Many Americans Don’t Pay Taxes?
Everything Kevin:
Become An Insider!
Kevin is on YouTube!
Download Kevin’s iPhone App!
Sign Up For Kevin’s FREE Podcast
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Take Trudeau on the Go! Click here to download this show to your iPod, mp3 player, or PC through iTunes!
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Bank Of America Charges Man $39.23 On A $0 Balance
November 8, 2011 by admin
Filed under News Stories
November 8, 2011
The Consumerist
By Ben Popken
Bank of America charged Roger $39.23 in interest on his credit card, even though he had a zero balance. How could that be?
Chicago Tribune reports that when Roger asked Bank of America for an explanation, he got one. But it didn’t make sense. He had run up a $5,734.13 balance, got $1,450 in credit from two of the merchants, and paid off the remaining balance. So how can you get charged interest where there’s nothing due on the account?
Bank of America told Roger that those credits “are not considered payments,” therefore, “the interest charges were applied correctly.” He contacted a 2nd Bank of America rep to verify, and got the same response.
When Chicago Tribunes “Problem Solver” columnist Jon Yates stepped in, the bank changed their tune. They agreed to waive the fees as a “courtesy” but said the interest charges were valid. They claimed the interest was from a $600 balance Roger had carried. Roger says that doesn’t make sense either because he carried that balance during a 0% promotional interest rate period.
“They never gave me a real good explanation,” Roger told the Chicago Tribune. “I’m not sure that they understand it.”
Word to the wise, if you got a large amount of credit back on your Bank of America credit card, better check your next statement to make sure you they’re not erroneously charging you interest.
Click here for the full report.
Bank Of America Axes $5 Debit Card Fee
November 2, 2011 by admin
Filed under News Stories
November 2, 2001
CNN Money
By Jason Kessler and Blake Ellis
Bank of America said Tuesday it’s axing its plan to charge a $5 fee for customers who use their debit cards to make purchases.
In September, the bank announced that it would begin charging most customers the monthly fee early next year.
But after widespread customer revolt and announcements by several of its rivals that they won’t charge similar debit-card fees, Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) backpedaled on its plan. Customers who use their debit cards will no longer incur the fee starting in January.
“We have listened to our customers very closely over the last few weeks and recognize their concern with our proposed debit usage fee,” said David Darnell, Bank of America’s co-chief operating officer. “Our customers’ voices are most important to us. As a result, we are not currently charging the fee and will not be moving forward with any additional plans to do so.”
7 banks that are still awesome
Before making the announcement, the bank was considering ways to soften the fee, by offering customers new ways of avoiding it — like making direct deposits or maintaining minimum balances.
But Bank of America still stuck out as other banks fell off the bandwagon. Late last week, Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) and Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500) both called off pilot programs that would impose debit card fees in certain states.
On Monday, SunTrust (STI, Fortune 500), a large regional bank based in Atlanta, announced that it will no longer charge $5 a month for debit card purchases starting Wednesday. Shortly afterward, Alabama-headquartered Regions Bank (RF, Fortune 500) said it will nix its $4 monthly fee on Tuesday.
“When major banks started retracing their footsteps, it left the banks with the fee exposed to fairly significant potential market share losses” said Jefferson Harralson, an analyst with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.
Customer revolt: The debit card fees these institutions originally charged (or planned to charge) sparked pledges by thousands of consumers to move their money out of big banks.
