Breaking Promises to Our Communities - Bank of America: Bad for America

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With control of one in five credit cards and the maximum amount of bank deposits permitted by the Federal Reserve—there’s no question that the nation’s largest bank is also its most powerful one.

In fact, with 52 million customers, more than 5,700 bank branches, and more than 17,000 ATM machines across the country, Bank of America and its products reach nearly half of all U.S. households. Bank of America by the Numbers »

Although CEO Ken Lewis claims Bank of America is committed to “creating opportunities for people…to fulfill their dreams” a growing body of evidence shows the financial giant is using its size and its power to squeeze consumers, taxpayers, and working families.

In 2006, Bank of America raked in $21 billion in profits. Bank of America made more money from its U.S. operations than any other company—including ExxonMobil, the world's most profitable company.

Breaking Promises to Our Communities

Cutting Corners On Community Reinvestment

Unlike other major corporations who recognize their responsibility to contribute to the communities in which they operate through Community Reinvestment Act initiatives, Bank of America is making and breaking promises—shirking its obligations and hurting our neighborhoods:

Among major U.S. banks, Bank of America is the only one that refuses to negotiate agreements with CRA groups. The vague commitments that Bank of America offers instead are unenforceable. To win approval for past mergers, Bank of America has routinely made promises to fund community groups and economic development initiatives in low-income neighborhoods—yet has wound up ignoring many of those commitments after the merger goes through.

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“Consumers should be the ones making the decisions about their money and should be made fully aware of all the policies of the banks that they do business with. It’s common sense.”
—Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)