Posted on 02/13/2007 4:55:51 AM PST by Brilliant
In the latest sign of the U.S. banking industry's aggressive pursuit of the Hispanic market, Bank of America Corp. has quietly begun offering credit cards to customers without Social Security numbers -- typically illegal immigrants.
In recent years, banks across the country have begun offering checking accounts and, in some cases, mortgages to the nation's fast-growing ranks of undocumented immigrants, most of whom are Hispanic...
The new Bank of America program is open to people who lack both a Social Security number and a credit history, as long as they have held a checking account with the bank for three months without an overdraft. Most adults in the U.S. who don't have a Social Security number are undocumented immigrants.
The Charlotte, N.C., banking giant tested the program last year at five branches in Los Angeles, and last week expanded it to 51 branches... The bank hopes to roll out the program nationally later this year.
"We are willing to grant credit to someone with little or no credit history," says Lance Weaver, Bank of America's head of international card services...
The credit cards involved aren't cheap. They come with a high interest rate and an upfront fee. And the idea of catering to illegal immigrants is controversial.
Bank of America defends the program, saying it complies with U.S. banking and antiterrorism laws. Company executives say that the initiative isn't about politics, but rather about meeting the needs of an untapped group of potential customers.
"These people are coming here for quality of life, and they deserve somebody to give them a chance to achieve that quality of life," says Brian Tuite, the bank's director of Latin America card operations...
Critics say Bank of America is knowingly making a product available to people who are violating U.S. immigration law...
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Frankly, I think that they should be prosecuted.
I am closing my B of A checking account that I have had for over 23 years TODAY because of this policy.
My letter to B of A cancelling the account will state the reason why.
I had one of those until 5 minutes ago. I just closed the account (actually, I found out that it was closed 2 months ago when I left dot-gov for a real job in the private sector). I don't know about your branch of government, but in the area I was working, the card was all but useless anyway. I still had to fill out a cryptic expense report whenever I travelled even though I used that card. Direct billing was my preference.
One interesting angle to this is a historic one. Bank of America was founded back in the late 1800s as America's first "personal bank" at a time when banks catered exclusively to large corporations. The founder was a guy out in San Francisco who realized that the Protestant work ethic of this country had cultivated an economic climate in which the largest "customer base" for a bank -- by a wide margin -- was the combined purchasing power of ordinary Americans.
They should rename it Bank of Amexica.
Some call it predatory lending, others call it getting a piece of the pie.
"The new Bank of America program is open to people who lack both a Social Security number and a credit history, as long as they have held a checking account with the bank for three months without an overdraft. Most adults in the U.S. who don't have a Social Security number are undocumented immigrants."
Now my question is how did they get a checking account without a Socialist Insecurity number. My bank said it was required by law for me to provide it.
Were they lying to me?
Fox News just reported this, said a lot of the big banks are doing it. Does anyone have any suggestions? Live in Orlando area.
Try little banks. CNL Bank, maybe.
Good for you. I won't be too far behind you.
BOHICA America
Anyone know what kind of ID they require? I wouldn't mind getting a credit card in the name of Jose Hernandez and donating it all to the Minutemen.
so is it a good time to short BOA?
So-called subprime lending is hot these days - there's money to be made. They protect themselves with higher fees and interest rates and sometimes required minimum bank balances.
with all of this free credit, the number of illegals cruising my neighborhood in customized 10 year old civics should triple! good thing the constant drone of those custom exhaust systems isn't annoying at all.
I am sure we are not alone, Please let Bank of America know that you are not going to foot the bill for billions of dollars in bad credit card debt because they want to give credit cards to ILLEGAL aliens.
Boycott the Bank of America!
"You know that Illegal Alien" credit card program/deal we've got going? Well, it ain't what it is. Who are you going to believe; us or your lying eyes."
The letter was all: "We are performing a legal service and are not breaking any laws." Yadda, yadda, jive talk. Nowhere do they deny doing what they are doing: providing credit and credit cards to illegal aliens. Nowhere in the spot or in their statement does Bank of America say; "How could we have been so stupid, we hear the outrage of our legal American citizen customers and are going to stop this program immediately."... NO, none of that, just a basic: "Ignore that man pulling those levers behind the curtain, don't leave, we want your business/money" baloney.
Anyway, the FOX News people stated that BOA was losing a lot of customers and that a lot of people (like myself) had stopped using there credit cards, had cut them up/jumped ship and gone with other banks who do NOT give credit cards to ILLEGAL aliens.
The whole point of the news spot and Bank of America/MEXICO's statement was that the boycott is having an immediate effect. BOA/M is feeling it in their bottom line.
I am posting this to let everyone know that the boycott of this bank that supports illegals over law abiding American citizens is working. Keep up the good work!
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