Big Banks Responding to Loss of Depositors

Last November, 650,000 bank customers took their money out of the largest banks and transferred it to a credit union or locally-owned bank.  (November 5th, 2011 was Bank Transfer Day.)

Since then, hundreds of thousands more customers have smartened up and moved their money out of the big banks.  And finally, the largest banks are responding to this mass exodus.

Oh wait, you probably thought the banks’ “response” would be to provide better service and fewer “Gotcha!” fees and surcharges.  ROTFLMAO!!!  Come on, what planet are you living on???

The largest banks have responded to their fleeing depositors by — you guessed it — making it more difficult, expensive and cumbersome to move YOUR money out of the bank.  What’d you expect?

An attorney for Consumers Union said:  “It's become harder and harder to move your money.”  A lot of banks are charging a fee for closing an account.  Cell phone carriers have “earned” billions with these termination fees.  It’s about time the banks caught on to this lucrative scam.  Why build a better mousetrap when it’s so much easier to just gouge your customers with hidden fees?

Another obstacle is the cumbersome process of transferring your direct deposit and automatic bill paying.  Banks are deliberately NOT helping customers with these processes, and they often give conflicting answers to people’s questions.  The transition can take several weeks.  WTF???  They can access all of your financial information with a few mouse clicks, but it takes several weeks to transfer a bank account?!?  Sort of an odd combination of the 21st and 19th centuries.  The Internet meets the Pony Express.

The linked article ends with:  “It may take a little time and cost you a few dollars, but if you don't like your bank — vote with your feet and find a new financial institution.”

Financial Product Safety Commission

Those poor Republicans. No matter how hysterical they get, no matter how much they shriek and shout (don’t those spewfucks ever get laryngitis?), there’s always something else to get their panties in a wad. There’s always another threat to The America They Grew Up In.

Republicans already have their hands full battling Socialized Medicine and that treehugging energy legislation that Obama is pushing. And now their latest hissy fit: the proposed Financial Product Safety Commission.

This article was written by Bob Sullivan, author of Gotcha Capitalism.

This will be the first new federal consumer protection agency since the 1930s. The Financial Product Safety Commission will take over some of the jobs that existing agencies have been neglecting. The FDIC, Federal Reserve, Comptroller of the Currency, Office of Thrift Supervision, Federal Trade Commission and National Credit Union Administration will all have some of their responsibility and authority transferred to this new agency.

Gail Hillebrand of Consumers Union said consumer protection has been split among all of those agencies, and each one has passed the buck to somebody else. “It's a reflection of the degree to which those folks haven't done the job. Consumer protection is too important to be the orphan in the regulatory system. It has been everybody's last priority.”

Barney Frank and Christopher Dodd will be introducing legislation in the House and Senate respectively. This agency will have the power to:

Review new contracts (e.g. credit card terms of service agreements) and demand that these contracts be clearly written;

Require banks to store and share information that would help consumers compare terms and conditions;

Issue subpoenas to examine bank records when a complaint is being investigated;

Allow state governments to enact even tougher consumer protection laws; and

Extract fines — anywhere from a thousand to a million dollars per day — against banks who violate these rules.

Works for me.

Needless to say, the banking industry and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are drawing up their battle plans. They’ve instructed their prostitutes in Congress to bend over and gyrate like they’ve never gyrated before, and they’re preparing a ton of sleazy TV commercials.

Since the health insurance lobby has had so much success with their phony “grassroots” organizations, maybe the banking industry will try the same thing. Get ready for some more of those spontaneous demonstrations. Millions of everyday Americans will suddenly fly into a rage at the thought of “Socialized Banking!” “Keep those bumbling government bureaucrats out of MY bank account!”