Posted by
Conservative in Paradise on Sunday, March 04, 2007 11:47:37 AM
As someone who works in the finance industry I am very upset about Bank of America's decision to give credit cards to people who are in America illegally. At the financial institution where I work we no longer accept any Mexican ID's to open accounts, we also are turning away people who do not have entry stamps or visas in their passport. I mean come on how did these people get here if they do not have an entry stamp. In the long run this decision will hurt BOA. Sure they are a big bank and most people do not care, but where is the recourse when an illegal immigrant defaults on their loan? What happens when they are deported back to Mexico or just decide that they want to go back to Mexico? Just as what is going on with the sub-prime mortgage market where defaults and delinquencies are rising and hurting the lenders, so too will this decision will hurt BOA.
Here is an example, "Shares of NovaStar Financial, which makes loans to people with weak
credit, fell almost 43 percent on Wednesday after the company announced
a surprise loss of $14.4 million for the fourth quarter and told
investors that it might not make enough money to pay dividends for the
next four years."
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/02/22/business/credit.phpI had written a letter to BOA about this decision and here is their response.
Dear Lance,
Thank you for your inquiry dated 2/21/07 regarding the new credit card
program. We value you as a customer and appreciate your business. Your
concerns are very important to us and we will be happy to assist you.
Bank of America created this pilot in Los Angeles to help current
customers who have deposits with us, but little or no credit history,
build a credit history. The program is consistent with our goal of
helping our customers meet their financial needs.
We are careful to comply with U.S. laws and regulations, including the
USA Patriot Act, and use the same criteria to extend credit across our
entire customer base. We require all customers to provide us with two
forms of identification, one of which must be an unexpired U.S. or
foreign government-issued identification card. Our banking center
associates then verify the customer's identity.
Customers who sign up for this particular credit card program must also
have an existing deposit account with us.
This program is being piloted in predominantly Hispanic communities in
Southern California, and offers a secured credit card to existing Bank
of America deposit account holders who have little or no credit history.
Bank of America strives to provide the best products and services to
achieve customer satisfaction.
We are committed to keeping your customer information confidential,
safe, and secure while you are using Online Banking. If you are
concerned about the security and confidentiality of your account, please
send us another message and we will be glad to assist you with any
concerns.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. If we may be
of further assistance, please contact us again by e-mail. Thank you for
choosing Bank of America.
Sincerely,
Sam Patt
Bank of America
I would call for a boycott but that will not do any good, but what I do call for is all Americans who care about their country to do their homework before they do business with anyone. Think about who you are giving your money to and what they are doing with it. There are other businesses who offer the same services and who have different values and confusions, do business with them. Be picky you are the consumer, you are the boss.