Bank of America: "We have a right to make a profit"

[QuantumPion]

What a stupid statement by the CEO. They have a right to try to make a profit, they don't have a right to a profit. Customers have a right to tell them to get lost and do business with someone else.

I think that was implied by the statement. If not, well then, fuck. Who does he think he is, the CEO of Goldman Sachs? :\

 

[Ausm]

Thank you Dodd-Frank...good job!

The problem with the banking system was created long before this Bill was passed but I do agree the Dodd-Frank bill did little to stop the egregious practices in the banking industry.

 

[pauldun170]

cause
http://nation.foxnews.com/bank-america/2011/10/03/thank-dick-durbin-bank-america-swipe-fees

effect
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politic...rica-customers-get-the-heck-out-of-that-bank/

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business/july-dec11/bankfees_09-30.html

 

[Dulanic]

I am confused about all this hubbub over BofA. I mean... who gives a shit? If you don't like it bank elsewhere. I mean who expected different when the government decided to set limits on where and how they make their money? The gubment decided they can no longer make it from morons who can't balance their checkbook anymore. So now they get it other ways... color me fucking suprised. People may call me a liberal at times but this is one time I can say... WTF were they thinking, queue 1 time comment.

I'm far more pissed at the government than I am at BofA. I did vote /w my wallet and move my accounts. I actually regret it because now I don't have easy and close ATMs nor do I have a good mobile app anymore. I likely will move it back as I won't be charged this fee anyways since I fall under account types that are excempt since I have a mortgage.

 

[Darwin333]

If you have an existing loan and BoA buys that loan, it doesn't impact you at all. The terms of the loan are set and it doesn't matter to you at all.

Except for the fact that you are now "doing business" with BoA.

 

[her209]

If you have an existing loan and BoA buys that loan, it doesn't impact you at all. The terms of the loan are set and it doesn't matter to you at all.

What if BoA refuses to take your money and then initiates foreclosure on your house?
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2194349

 

[chihlidog]

What if BoA refuses to take your money and then initiates foreclosure on your house?
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2194349

I've reached out to a few people on this and hope to see some results.

 

[bfdd]

And the customer has the right to go someplace else.

Americans just can't think sometimes. Look at Netflix; they could demand your 1st born and you would still give it to them. Switch the mother fucking cash flow OFF. Take your business elsewhere.

that's a poor example, but yea we have choices.

 

[Budmantom]

I am confused about all this hubbub over BofA. I mean... who gives a shit? If you don't like it bank elsewhere. I mean who expected different when the government decided to set limits on where and how they make their money? The gubment decided they can no longer make it from morons who can't balance their checkbook anymore. So now they get it other ways... color me fucking suprised. People may call me a liberal at times but this is one time I can say... WTF were they thinking, queue 1 time comment.

I'm far more pissed at the government than I am at BofA. I did vote /w my wallet and move my accounts. I actually regret it because now I don't have easy and close ATMs nor do I have a good mobile app anymore. I likely will move it back as I won't be charged this fee anyways since I fall under account types that are excempt since I have a mortgage.

That's too simple these are Obama voters they don't understand cause and effect.

 

[Patranus]

What does investment banking have to do with their consumer bank account division?

 

[Dulanic]

That's too simple these are people everywhere and they don't understand cause and effect.

Fixed but agree.

 

[rstove02]

If you have an existing loan and BoA buys that loan, it doesn't impact you at all. The terms of the loan are set and it doesn't matter to you at all.

BoA also has been known to take your money but not apply it to anything as well.

There was more than one occasion I sent a check to their escrow department to correct for a shortfall (due to insurance/taxes going up) where they just cashed the check and left the funds in limbo (unappropriated).

Had to call them and tell them to apply the funds to my escrow account even though the letter I sent was addressed to their escrow department, the check had my loan escrow account number on it and was listed to be applied to escrow on the check itself, and with the check I had the escrow payment stub they mailed to me when they informed me of said shortfall.

I would up taking a 401k loan and paying off my house to not deal with that crap anymore.

 

[chihlidog]

BoA also has been known to take your money but not apply it to anything as well.

There was more than one occasion I sent a check to their escrow department to correct for a shortfall (due to insurance/taxes going up) where they just cashed the check and left the funds in limbo (unappropriated).

Had to call them and tell them to apply the funds to my escrow account even though the letter I sent was addressed to their escrow department, the check had my loan escrow account number on it and was listed to be applied to escrow on the check itself, and with the check I had the escrow payment stub they mailed to me when they informed me of said shortfall.

I would up taking a 401k loan and paying off my house to not deal with that crap anymore.

This, or they will apply extra payments toward interest and not principal, or some other method of screwing up so badly they leave little choice but to think they do it on purpose since it's SO BLATANT.

Sickening.

 

[Throckmorton]

And we have a right to let them fail by not banking with them or bailing them out.

No, we don't. They're too big to fail so they will be bailed out!


I have $5700 credit card debt with them so I have no choice but to give them my money. But for banking I use Bank of Hawaii.

 

[halik]

This, or they will apply extra payments toward interest and not principal, or some other method of screwing up so badly they leave little choice but to think they do it on purpose since it's SO BLATANT.

Sickening.

How exactly would that happen on a constant amortization mortgage? The extra payment just shortens the term of the loan proportionally relative to your principal balance. It's mathematically impossible to just apply it "towards interest", since your payment are set.

 

[senseamp]

Govt implicit "too big to fail" guarantee is the only thing propping up BofA.
BofA wants to stick taxpayers with the losses, but keep the profits for itself.

 

[CWRMadcat]

I don't really understand the outrage. In the past the fees were being paid by debit transactions. Now that these fees have been capped they're pushing it onto debit users. What did you expect?

The costs of banking are becoming more transparent and I can't say that's exactly a bad thing. I know I'm keeping my BofA accounts because I like having access to an ATM no matter where I am. The debit fees are a non issue to consumers who use credit cards.

 

[chihlidog]

I don't really understand the outrage. In the past the fees were being paid by debit transactions. Now that these fees have been capped they're pushing it onto debit users. What did you expect?

The costs of banking are becoming more transparent and I can't say that's exactly a bad thing. I know I'm keeping my BofA accounts because I like having access to an ATM no matter where I am. The debit fees are a non issue to consumers who use credit cards.

The outrage comes from their mindset, IMO. "We can no longer make as much as we're used to making, so rather than be less profitable, we're going to tack on fees to an average person's acount. Who cares if they can afford it. I'm not going to cut back my lifestyle because of this".

That's the perception, and I would argue, it has a lot of truth to it. Now, one can also argue that if they have to accept the loss in revenue, then it's better to pay the fees than to see them lay off even more average joe workers to recoup some of the impact. But in a horrible economy, more fees are the last thing to throw onto the backs of the average consumer when not just the CEOs are making obnoxious amounts of money, but consider the combined salaries of all the upper level management.

 

[her209]

I don't really understand the outrage. In the past the fees were being paid by debit transactions. Now that these fees have been capped they're pushing it onto debit users. What did you expect?

The costs of banking are becoming more transparent and I can't say that's exactly a bad thing. I know I'm keeping my BofA accounts because I like having access to an ATM no matter where I am. The debit fees are a non issue to consumers who use credit cards.

If the capped fees are preventing the banks from making profit from the debit transactions, then wouldn't it be better for the banks to stop offering the service?

 

[chihlidog]

How exactly would that happen on a constant amortization mortgage? The extra payment just shortens the term of the loan proportionally relative to your principal balance. It's mathematically impossible to just apply it "towards interest", since your payment are set.

We've had them take extra payments and count them as prepayments for next month's payment, rather than putting the extra directly towards the principal, and had their customer service reps go so far as to tell me we COULDNT make extra payments towards principal alone. This is, of course, not true. We've had them tell us all sorts of B.S. that I really dont have the time to write out all of it. It's really insane when dealing with them.

My point in saying this is that BofA lies constantly, there's no consistency or competency, and that these horror stories are true and happen all the time with BofA.

 

[CWRMadcat]

If the capped fees are preventing the banks from making profit from the debit transactions, then wouldn't it be better for the banks to stop offering the service?

Nope. Under the assumption that the capped fees are creating a loss for the banks, I would assume the monthly fee would be used to make debit transactions profitable again. It wouldn't make sense to scrap the service altogether.

That being said, I highly doubt that the fee caps are causing debit transactions to become unprofitable. They're just trying to offset the revenue losses due to the cap by making users shoulder some of it now.

 

[Darwin333]

The outrage comes from their mindset, IMO. "We can no longer make as much as we're used to making, so rather than be less profitable, we're going to tack on fees to an average person's acount. Who cares if they can afford it. I'm not going to cut back my lifestyle because of this".

That is sort of my attitude with my business as well..... Hell, that is the attitude of just about everyone that has the ability to not have their income reduced. Sometimes you have no choice but to take a hit but I don't know anyone who wants to make less money.

That's the perception, and I would argue, it has a lot of truth to it. Now, one can also argue that if they have to accept the loss in revenue, then it's better to pay the fees than to see them lay off even more average joe workers to recoup some of the impact. But in a horrible economy, more fees are the last thing to throw onto the backs of the average consumer when not just the CEOs are making obnoxious amounts of money, but consider the combined salaries of all the upper level management.

I find it rather ironic that these fees are about the least unethical thing BoA has done but it is receiving the most attention from the average joe.

 

[chihlidog]

That is sort of my attitude with my business as well..... Hell, that is the attitude of just about everyone that has the ability to not have their income reduced. Sometimes you have no choice but to take a hit but I don't know anyone who wants to make less money.



I find it rather ironic that these fees are about the least unethical thing BoA has done but it is receiving the most attention from the average joe.

I agree to a point. People are just starting to see a bit of their true color.

 

[CWRMadcat]

The outrage comes from their mindset, IMO. "We can no longer make as much as we're used to making, so rather than be less profitable, we're going to tack on fees to an average person's acount. Who cares if they can afford it. I'm not going to cut back my lifestyle because of this".

That's the perception, and I would argue, it has a lot of truth to it. Now, one can also argue that if they have to accept the loss in revenue, then it's better to pay the fees than to see them lay off even more average joe workers to recoup some of the impact. But in a horrible economy, more fees are the last thing to throw onto the backs of the average consumer when not just the CEOs are making obnoxious amounts of money, but consider the combined salaries of all the upper level management.

You act as if the fee additions are solely for the benefit of upper management, and that's not true. It's a business with shareholders. It doesn't exist to give handouts to the general public. Excesses in executive comp have far less to do with the manner in which corporations earn money and more to do with the ineffective nature of corporate boards. But that's not the focus of this thread.

BofA doesn't owe the average consumer anything. By the same token, the average consumer doesn't owe BofA anything either. You can decide if the cost is worth the benefit and decide accordingly. But acting as if BofA should just earn less money so you can have free debit transactions is silly.

 

[Darwin333]

If the capped fees are preventing the banks from making profit from the debit transactions, then wouldn't it be better for the banks to stop offering the service?

Ummm, no?

Why wouldn't it make more sense for any business to simply make the service profitable again if they had the ability?

When the price of corn goes up does it make more sense for Kellogs to stop selling corn flakes or to simply raise the price of a box of cereal?