Posted on 10/06/2011 9:22:39 AM PDT by tobyhill
Bank of America's CEO defended his bank's new $5 fee on debit cards on Wednesday, saying that customers and shareholders understand the bank has a "right to make a profit."
Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) CEO Brian Moynihan defended the move, which the bank announced last week in response to new caps on debit card swipe fees that the banks charge retailers.
Bank of America's announcement of a new debit card fee was followed today by an announcement of new checking account fees by Citibank (C, Fortune 500). These new bank fees have fueled a populist backlash that has coincided with a series of protests against Wall Street banks around the nation.
Moynihan stopped short of criticizing President Obama who earlier this week said to ABC that banks don't have an "inherent right" to a "certain amount of profit."
But BofA's chief did say banks have an inherent right to make a profit in an interview Wednesday with CNBC's Larry Kudlow at the Washington Ideas Forum, sponsored by the Newseum, the Aspen Institute and the Atlantic magazine.
"I have an inherent duty as a CEO of a publicly owned company to get a return for my shareholders," Moynihan said.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
When you refused to take a loss and instead had the taxpayers bail you out, you forfieted that right to have a profit. You are now under the socialist umbrella and you put yourself there.
And we have a right to take our business elsewhere.
However, BofA has NO RIGHT to our tax dollars ... something Obama appears to not comprehend.
And they are expected to make a profit for their shareholders. An inconvenient truth for the little teeny boppers on Wall Street.
Bank of America GO MAKE MONEY!
B of A can’t even keep their on line banking running any longer.
Someone tell this son of a bitch there are tens of millions Americans who are just struggling to keep a damn roof over their heads, millions of others losing everything.
Where are their bailouts Mr. Moynihan? Ya stinking little criminal...
Spit*
Yes,”Go MAKE MONEY” but don’t expect real taxpayers to bail them out if they don’t.
I hope everyone of those idiots on Wall Street post their pictures somewhere because when they go out to find a job they can be disqualified. No company wants to hire someone that doesn’t believe in making that company a profit.
Dear Sir:
I am a customer of Bank of America. In a recent poll, 70% of the customers of BoA claimed they will leave the bank if the $5 per month fee were to be implemented. You encouraged me to leave BoA when you took the floor of the Senate in your recent errant statements. I am NOT one of those customers who will leave the bank. But I am looking to you to make this right.
Please note:
I will give you the benefit of the doubt. Maybe you were not aware of the unintended consequences of your amendment which led to these fees. If that is the case, you can reverse or correct this error by changing the law. Please do so expeditiously.
If you were aware of the impending fees, and you wanted BoA to lose customers or somehow punish this bank, that is shameful, and you owe BoA and its customers an apology.
So, which will it be? Will you correct your mistake, or will you stick to your opinion that your amendment was helpful? If you think the amendment was helpful, which will lead to BoA going out of business, it will also punish small businesses who may lay off employees while trying to calculate razor thin profit margins due to more bank fees.
Please keep in mind that Congress often does not think through the unintended consequences, and that the American people will always react to poor decisions by Congress.
Please make this right.
Sincerely,
....I know...I was too kind....
"Wall Street reforms" - nice subtle way use of the language to fit the agenda of making the banker out to be the evil capitalist stomping on the heads of the downtrodden.
He’s absolutely right but I suspect every PR professional in America did a double facepalm at hearing the statement.
This is all because Obama just changed the laws. The banks used to collect a merchant fee from the vendors where you used your debit card, just the way credit card companies do. It’s a processing fee, and somebody’s got to pay it.
Obama said that they cannot raise the fee to the merchant or collect enough to pay for the service anymore. So guess what? They’ve got to get paid for this service somewhere, and who else are they going to get it from?
He should be calling attention to the fact that Obama is directly responsible for this by preventing the banks from charging the merchants (as they used to).
This is another thing we have to thank Obama for, but as usual, he is adept at avoiding the blame (although many people warned that this would be the result).
Blame Obama for this latest fee.
Banks borrow almost free.
Credit card interest rates do not go down.
More margin of profit results.
Go local or bury it in the back yard.
“He’s absolutely right but I suspect every PR professional in America did a double facepalm at hearing the statement.”
####
Really?
Well if that is indeed the VERY sad case, it is because the Communist media has, over the course of decades, convinced the economically ignorant that honestly obtained “profit” is an obscene and evil concept.
Better research the history here.
Banks were forced to play along or face Federal sanctions.
Wells Fargo tried saying “no thank you” and Obams said “But I insist”.
Irrespective of that history, Obama is in no position to impose wage and price controls.
Dodd/Frank attempted to limit per transaction fees at the point of sale, so the banks are covering that cost elsewhere.
In fact they are under no obligation to take the cost from profit.
If you don’t like it, try finding another bank that won’t have these fees by year end.
(somehow, I manage to survive without using a debit card for purchases)
If you’re forced to take a pay cut or get laid off, do you simply accept a change in lifestyle or income?
No! You find a way to compensate for the impact.
weird isn’t it how this pro queer cross dressing liberal biased media never seems to tell the public the reason for the fees , oh like more regulations by the left.
Zero just said that they have a right but it’s not nice.
I still claim that the dumbest voters this country has ever produced is the American idol zero voters, they know nothing about this man and yet voted for the fool while the media dressed him up and made him out to be a superstar.
Well, you could do that, too...
But for people who want to continue to use credit cards and debit cards, somebody has to pay that fee, and now it’s the consumer rather than the merchant. If Obama would stop messing with the banks (which he obviously does not understand), a lot of their problems would be solved. He has consistently screwed things up.
This law just went into effect a few days ago, so you can see how fast the screw-up effect is felt.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.