Top 13 Reasons To Leave Bank of America!

The Coalition of Eastern Shore Progressives (CESP) will be staging a protest this Saturday, November 5th, at 11am.  The group is targeting the local Bank of America branch, located at 1145 S. Salisbury Blvd, across from Salisbury University.

Bank Too Big To Fail???

This action is being held in conjunction with MoveOn.org’s National Event, urging members to move their money out of the Big Banks that were responsible for the financial meltdown and continuing attacks on their customers and the American taxpayer.  There will be hundreds of protests across the country, at local branches of Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Chase, Citigroup and other Banks Too Big To Fail.  It is hoped that the action will generate changes at banks, and additional government regulations that will prevent the same type of financial debacle as the country suffered in 2007, including the massive unemployment, foreclosures and loss of $20 trillion in Middle Class wealth.

Here are some of the many reasons why Bank of America is being targeted:

1. BoA Announced They Are Backing Down From Their Shocking New Debit Card Fee After HUGE Protests: Despite dropping a $5 debit card fee, BoA has other fees beginning in ‘12. Sen. Dick Durbin’s (D-Illinois) response to customers: “Vote with your feet. Get the heck out of that bank.” 

2. BoA, Despite Being Bailed Out By Taxpayer Money, Paid No Taxes. BoA paid NO federal taxes in ‘10 (or ‘09), by posting a pre-tax loss of $5.4 billion. It also cited a tax benefit of $1 billion!

3. BoA Has Spent Millions Lobbying To Gut Reforms With Your Tax Dollars. Despite being bailed out to the tune of billions of dollars by the federal government, BoA still has the gumption to spend millions in DC, battling new reforms meant to prevent another financial meltdown.

4. BoA’s Practices Are At The Nexus Of The Foreclosure Crisis. BoA CEO Brian Moynihan raised eyebrows recently when he excitedly cheered for faster foreclosures of Americans’ homes.

5. BoA Has Announced That It Is Laying Off 30,000 People. The 30,000 job cuts are double what any other U.S.-based employer has announced so far this year, even after billions in bailout money.

6. Despite A Poor Economy, BoA Continues To Reward Executives With Multi-Million Dollar Salaries & Bonuses. Despite blaming the economy for layoffs & its new fees, BoA continues to deliver huge paydays to its executives.

7. BoA Rejects The Right Of Customers To Protest. CEO Brian Moynihan has been quoted as saying that protesting customers will not be allowed in the local branches!

8. BoA Takes Advantage of American Soldiers. BoA entices soldiers to take out loans at usuriously high rates. Personal loans to soldiers for a few thousand dollars can keep them indebted for the rest of their lives. Last May, BoA paid $22 million to settle charges of improperly foreclosing on active-duty troops.

  9. BoA’s Lawsuits.BoA is charged (with JP Morgan Chase & Wells Fargo) with conspiracy, along with 2 credit card companies, Visa & MasterCard, to keep ATM fees high; in other words, “price-fixing.”

"Let Them Eat Cake! I'll take their homes!"

 10. BoA’s Derivatives Position Keeps Rising. The total derivatives in the FDIC-insured portion of BoA, mid-year, was $53.7 trillion, up 10% from $48.9 trillion in 2010. The bank has $5 trillion of credit derivatives, nearly double its $2.7 trillion pre-Merrill amount.

11. BoA Got the Most AIG Money Of The Big Depositor Banks. Buying Merrill’s AIG-related portfolio, BoA got to kept $12 billion worth of Federal AIG bailout funds. Its ’08 bailout included $15 billion for the bank & $10 billion for Merrill, plus an extra $20 billion in Jan ‘09. Former BoA CEO Ken Lewis’ personal take, a $63 million retirement plan.

12. Even After Lawsuits & Customer Outrage, BoA Still Pleases Investors Over Customers. Investors won part of the $8.5 billion settlement, but were upset that BoA was servicing loans, instead of foreclosing them. The bank has $30+ billion in residential mortgage loans in default, which will become foreclosures for thousands of American families.

13. BoA Leads the Big Bank Fraud Lawsuit Settlement Tally. BoA is being sued by State & Federal regulators for its foreclosure practices. One of 17 US financial institutions being sued by the Federal Housing Finance Agency for billions in mortgage-securities losses that may require BoA to repurchase $50 billion in fraudulent securities.