"I think it's totally repulsive. Ya know? What idiots! What kind of idiots are running that bank?"
That is what Virginia Hammerness says about Bank of America, the company her grandfather started, and one her own dad ran for his entire career. She calls the banks recent slide into sleazy business practices "nauseating;" "it's greed, greed, greed." This from a girl whose father once turned down a bonus saying the bank should use it to help customers instead:
She reflected on how her grandfather founded B of A as the Bank of
Italy in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood in 1904 as a reaction
to the fact that the big eastern banks wouldn't lend to middle class
immigrants like Italians.
Hammerness was outspoken about what has happened to the bank that is
her family's legacy, saying she had little doubt that Giannini was
"rolling over in his grave."
[...]
Huge bonuses were not her grandfather's way of doing business, she said.
A.P. Giannini gave away millions, but died with an estate of only
$500,000. He turned down a $1.7 million dollar bonus that the bank
wanted to give him, saying they should use it to help their customers
instead.
Gianniani became a legend right after the 1906 San Francisco
earthquake. After his bank burned down, he set up a wooden plank on two
barrels along the street and made loans. All it took was a handshake
and he later said every loan was repaid.
She argues that when BofA learned before signing on the dotted line to buy Merrill Lynch "they should have said forget it."
Started because it wouldn't lend to middle class individuals, like Italians in North Beach. How would her grandfather feel about the method of processing largest checks first in order to increase the odds of an overdraft, and thus sky high fees.
The most interesting part of this interview to me is the discovery that Virginia Hammerness banks at, that's right, Bank of America. Yep, despite her loathing of her family's own business, she is still a customer. Why? Because she's "too lazy" to go somewhere else. This is the key point in this entire piece, as it's the reason so many Americans just take, year after year, the banks' greedy behaviors that can end of costing them hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of dollars. Even with a simple checking account, now that everything is electronically drawn and deposited, you become married to your bank, and it can become and incredible hassle to divorce them. Will your bills be late if you don't get everything transferred over in time? It's stressful. So people just take it, and the banks like BofA rake it in hand over fist.
I encourage you to watch the Plante piece. It's a great example of three solid minutes of television news reporting--exclusive interview, a history lesson, complete with archival images, and all about a highly timely topic.
What do you think about Bank of America and others like it? Got a personal story of getting bent by your bank? We want to hear it in the comments.
