Please, Bank of America, take our money.
It's your right.
You know how Bank of America is going to start charging you $5 a month to use your own money? Turns out it's not class warfare or blatant greed. Nope. It's just the bank
exercising its rights:
Bank of America's CEO defended his bank's new $5 fee on debit cards on Wednesday, saying that customers and shareholders understand the bank has a "right to make a profit." [...]
[Brian] Moynihan said that the bank will talk to its customers, teammates and shareholders and "they'll understand what we're doing -- understand we have a right to make a profit." [...]
But he said the new charge was necessary because the "ability to be profitable" in retail banking has changed. He added that Wall Street reforms in the so-called Dodd-Frank Act will cost his bank "billions." [...]
Right. Because if Bank of America doesn't start charging its customers $5 a month to use their own money, the struggling bank will be crushed by regulations and unable to be profitable—which, of course, is its right. Life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness ... and the right to turn a profit. Makes perfect sense when you put it that way. Thanks, Mr. Moynihan, for explaining it in little words we can all understand.
Oh wait. What's that? Bank of America made how much money last year?
On its face, the second quarter appeared to be a healthy one for the Charlotte, N.C.-based lender. It earned $3.1 billion, or 27 cents a share, besting analysts' forecasts for a profit of $2.3 billion, or 22 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters.
Hard to imagine just how tough it is to survive on a mere $3.1 billion a year, huh? I guess Bank of America really has no choice but to bilk its customers. You know, to make ends meet. In this time of austerity, we all must learn to do without so the banks can exercise their right to make a profit. Why, I'm sure even Mr. Moynihan himself has had to learn to—wait, what's that? Bank of America's CEO made how much money last year?
It was a tough year for Bank of America, what with the foreclosure mess and a sagging stock price. Its chief executive, Brian T. Moynihan, nonetheless received $10 million in his first year on the job.
Mr. Moynihan will get a bonus of $9.05 million in the form of restricted stock, along with a base salary of $950,000, bringing his total pay to $10 million for 2010. In 2009, before Mr. Moynihan took over as chief executive, he received a total of $6.1 million in compensation.
Wow. That's rough. No wonder we all have to chip in our $5 a month to help the poor Bank of America get by. After all, it has a right to make a profit.
And its customers have a right to bank elsewhere.
