Friday, April 11, 2014

Flat Fee By Bank Of America Leveled On Poor Customers

By Anne Trimble


Only 4 years ago, the government made use of taxpayer's cash to pay $45 million to rescue financial institutions of America from failing like the Bank of America. Despite that noble effort, this financial institution has been implicated in many investigations for deceptive financial doings ranging from foreign-exchange to home loans. Consequently, it has paid millions in litigation. Now, the second-largest bank in this nation in terms of assets needs to grab $4.95 from individuals who are barely making it in this economy and are so desperate to get a bank account that they will accept one without any ancillary services. Is this just a sign of frugal banking practices or a sign of something larger taking place, perhaps like a tiny zit that becomes malignant. There is something weird going on here.

The bank has introduced a checkless checking account for a cost of $4.95, and this no-frills account will not permit overdrafts. It's a small fee targeted towards low-income consumers who simply require a fundamental bank account. By itself, this appears inadequate grounds to alert anybody, specifically clients or lawmakers. Yet, this chump change in their banking plan can conceal a scary tale about the financial industry and the economic situation itself.

Here are three reasons why I classify this as an anomaly:

1. In today's financial market, no frill accounts are typically complimentary. As a matter of fact, free checking is now the norm.

* Since 2011, Bank of America has been trying to reintroduce the idea of a basic banking fee. The experiment began by charging bank customers in three states-Arizona, Georgia, and Massachusetts-a flat fee ranging between $6 to $9 for a simple checking account. The idea did not work very well and the pilot program was scratched. In 2012, they tried it again. This time 10 million customers complained vociferously about it.

* There are no waivers. While megabanks do have payable accounts, they likewise have certain conditions to waive the cost-- like direct deposits from employers or keeping a certain checking account balance.

Why is a multibillion dollar financial institution asking low-end consumers for petty cash? Why is it seeking a policy that that most other financial institutions consider too silly to think about? Is it from petty reasoning, unmitigated piggishness or hopeless necessity? Truthfully, our only hope as Americans is to not try and figure out this insanity but move our commitment from printed fiat money back to the only true cash, which is God's Money-- Gold and Silver.




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