I strongly suspect the world would be a noticeably less sucky place and the economy less of a roller-coaster if all financial institutions were member-owned.
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Yep. Just like factories! (And other workplaces.)
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Wells Fargo and Bank of America C-level employees need to be dragged from their beds a thousand yesterdays ago.
What happens after they’re stood beaten and naked in the town square is left as an execution for the reader.
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You might be misunderstanding me. I’m certainly not anti-regulation. But I would be against a regulation that forced banks to freeze foreigners’ assets. So not all regulations are automatically beneficial.
And non-profit! 
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I don’t mind banks turning a profit as long as it accrues to the workers and the members. It’s serving the investor class that generates the perverse incentive to screw everyone else over IMHO.
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This is clearly an issue of good people just getting the word out.
We all know to never ever bank with Wells Fargo.
Now we add BofA to the list.
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Anyone here besides me old enough to remember when BoA was catching crap for letting people open accounts with ID issued by Mexican consulates?
And now they’re ‘racist’ for refusing to let foreigners open accounts?
Even ignoring that people aren’t being discriminated against for the color of their skin…
Did anyone bother to notice which nationalities (not races) are having their accounts frozen if they can’t provide detailed proof of citizenship or similar?
Iranian. Cuban. Venezuelan. Dig a little deeper and you’ll probably find a Russian… TL:DR People from countries under federal or international banking sanctions for human rights and illegal arms trafficking/development…
In short, BoA is doing what they have to do to be sure they are not violating sanctions, which they will be caught and fined for (unlike some other white collar offenses, busting banks which deal with prohibited regimes is (a) bipartisan and (b) very popular)…
But that just might rain on the everybody who disagrees with me is racist regime…
Actually, if you read the linked article:
According to the Post, Kansas-born Josh Collins received an unusual-looking letter purportedly from the bank asking about his citizenship status. He said he thought the mailer was spam and ignored it—only to have his account frozen a few weeks later.
Tennessee native David Lewis says he received the same suspicious-looking letter as Collins. In an interview with the Miami Herald, Lewis said he has maintained an account with Bank of America for about 30 years. In the letter, the bank inquired about his citizenship, income, and social security number.
And also:
Proof of citizenship is not required to open a bank account in the U.S., according to Stephanie Collins, a spokesperson for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the federal agency that supervises branch banking. Banks are merely required to identify and report suspicious transactions and maintain and update customer information, she said. Banks have not received any new instructions to collect more information about customers
.
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Does that regime have official doctrine? It sounds very formal…
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What part of US citizen don’t you understand?
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Being unbanked is a serious hardship in the industrialised West. One of the few good things about banks in the States is that a newcomer or temporary resident didn’t have to jump past the many, many barriers that banks elsewhere in the West put up to open an account. Looks like that’s changing, and for the worst possible reasons: fear and xenophobia.
This is the kind of story that makes me hope cryptocurrencies take off in a big way and replace banks.
While blockchain technology might play a part in record-keeping of alternatives to big corporate banks, cryptocurrencies themselves are definitely not a good replacement for banks for a number of reasons. What’s needed are more credit unions and postal banking.
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B of A has paid $76 billion in fines since 2008 so it’s better understood as a criminal enterprise than as a bank.
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Yesterday I tried to deposit $300 in cash into my mom’s account and they wouldn’t accept it, wanted me to go get a money order.
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Are average citizens of these countries inherently tied to Russia? I am Venezuelan, and I have family that have accounts they legally opened with BoA years ago and are depending on those accounts (in the literal life or death meaning). I understand the purpose of sanctions but the only ones suffering is not the government… They’ll be more than ok. It’s innocent people that are paying.
And guess what. I don’t know a single Russian.
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Kinda looks like Patty Hearst and the gang were way ahead of the curve, doesn’t it?
No, but they’re racist for other reasons though. Thanks for asking!
Welcome to Boing Boing! Better luck with your next account!
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As soon as they choose, and until you take it back from them, with force if necessary. Especially for BoA, but also for Wells Fargo and others, they steal what they want and it’s up to you to get it back.
BoA has been on my list for many years! The last time I did business with them, they admitted in email or live chat that they had stolen money from me (yet again) but obstinately refused to return it, citing some policy that they could only refund money they’d stolen twice per account or something stupid like that.
I did one of the things that I most fear. I went down into a bank branch and made a scene. I tossed all the printouts on the desk and told them (loudly enough so that everyone in the crowded bank could hear) that it was the third time that they had deliberately stolen money from me, they had admitted it themselves, all the proof was right there in the paperwork and they were going to give me back my money and close out my account then and there. I wouldn’t leave until they returned what they had stolen.
It was tense and unpleasant, but they did it. I guess I was lucky that the manager went into “PR crisis mode - make this look good” instead of “sic security on him” mode.
I should mention, I’m always nervous to walk into a bank even when it’s on good terms (what if they think I’m suspicious-looking? Now I’m anxious and it might show…that means I’ll look even more suspicious!)
Prior to that, it was First Tennessee bank that closed my account without my knowledge or consent, but afterward accepted a paycheck deposit (into the account that they had improperly closed) and when I went to withdraw money told me the account didn’t exist. I was now between jobs and needed that money. I had the account book and the deposit receipt, but they had to do an investigation to find out where the money had gone. It took 30 days, IIRC, but I did eventually get the money back (accompanied by a security guard).
Prior to that I’d had an account at Home Federal bank for many years, but once when I went to deposit a check they asked for my ID. No problem, I had a state ID (non-driver’s license). They rejected it. It was a valid state ID, but because I didn’t drive a car, it was against their policy to serve me. Despite the fact that I’d had an account with them for many years, lived in the city and so didn’t need a car, and was partially blind and so shouldn’t drive one. I went up at least two levels of managers on that one before I just closed my account and put them on my blacklist.
In short, never deal with a bank. Ever. They’re all criminals and it’s not worth the hassle. If you’ve accidentally made the mistake of getting into an abusive relationship with a bank, get out at the first opportunity possible. Stand up for yourself, and get what’s yours back but be ready to accept that it won’t be easy.
Credit Unions seem much better so far. But I’m still wary.
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ah, mercatus!
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Ironically, you’re both kinda right, since the 2008 crash happened, and was so bad, in no small part because so many of the key players weren’t actual banks and thus were exempt from a lot of the regulations in place.
Also, a lot of the shady stuff the actual banks did wasn’t illegal or against the rules, because the regulators and legislators couldn’t keep up with the rate of financial innovation. And for extra irony, the big investment banks themselves didn’t quite realize what they were doing, and how risky the sub-prime bets they had made were, until everything started to crash, at which point things escalated rapidly as everyone tried to get rid of the rotten assets before they would be left holding the bag.
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