What Bank of America Doesn't Want You to Know
'Don't Believe Everything You Read'
Bank of America spent a whopping $213 million on advertising for its array of products and services in 2006 alone --more than any other bank in the country--but what the nation's largest bank doesn't want you to know could be more revealing.
A Little Knowledge is a Powerful ThingBank of America collected more than $22.4 billion in fees from penalty and service fees and other forms of non-interest income in 2006, more than half of the bank's annual revenues. Amidst growing customer concerns, Bank of America commissioned an online and in-branch campaign to help consumers avoid fees called 'a little knowledge is a powerful thing'. Conveniently launched the day before Bank of America presented testimony to the House Financial Services Committee's hearing on "Improving Credit Card Consumer Protection," Bank of America refused to disclose how much money was spent to promote the fee awareness campaign. The campaign was immediately ridiculed by leading consumer groups and others. |
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Ed Mierzwinski, Consumer Program Director for US PIRG, commented that "education will not solve the fundamental problem that banks, encouraged by their regulators, have a series of unfair and deceptive practices designed to squeeze money out of people's bank accounts." Meanwhile, the Consumer's Union and the Consumer Federation of America wrote a letter to Bank of America urging the bank "to recognize that complicated practices generating high fees on consumers can't be repaired just by more disclosure. Bank of America should simplify its fee structure, reduce fees and eliminate fee-triggering practices… [and] reduce all consumer fees, including fees for checking, saving, and credit cards to no more than the bank's real cost."