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.”
Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan defended the move, which the bank announced last week in response to new caps on debit card swipe fees that the banks charge retailers.
Bank of America’s announcement of a new debit card fee was followed today by an announcement of new checking account fees by Citibank. These new bank fees have fueled a populist backlash that has coincided with a series of protests against Wall Street banks around the nation.
Moynihan stopped short of criticizing President Obama who earlier this week said to ABC that banks don’t have an “inherent right” to a “certain amount of profit.”
But BofA’s chief did say banks have an inherent right to make a profit in an interview Wednesday with CNBC’s Larry Kudlow at the Washington Ideas Forum, sponsored by the Newseum, the Aspen Institute and the Atlantic magazine.
“I have an inherent duty as a CEO of a publicly owned company to get a return for my shareholders,” Moynihan said.
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.”
Moynihan said the bank had made the fee clear and transparent to its customers and noted the bank had given plenty of advance notice because the fee won’t kick in until next year.
(Source: CNN Money)
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8 Responses
If you want to show off the bank’s “brand name” on your credit card, you pay for the privilege. There are plenty of other banks and credit unions that offer alternatives.
Mr. Moynihan should have been on the phone with me on Tuesday night, with 2 supervisors and a customer service woman, none of whom could find a way for me to use MY money to book flights. It took 4 family members trying on their BoA cards & 4 hours on the phone for them to clear the transaction.
And then they want me to PAY for the privilege of using MY money??? I’m def looking to take my very nice savings account out of their greedy paws.
As a customer of BofA, I have been in touch with them via internal email BEGGING them to grap the bull by the horns & take the case to the people. They need to take TV commercials, newspaper ads, billboards, etc., showing the country what the laws enacted by the socialist democrat party and its members Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Dick Durbin, Chuck U Schumer et all, have done & how the charges of the last 2 years are DIRECTLY related to them.
Mark (#3) – Status Quo and pure greed is no longer acceptable. Barney and Chuck are not the problem. Enablers such as yourself and your look the other way neighbors are!
Homeless (#4), you could change your name but your cant change your words. The FACTS are that the libs are the ones responsible for BofA having to charge for services previously rendered at no or less of a charge.
Faygie Frank etc., are VERY MUCH responsible for the problems. You are just too brainwashed to see it any other way.
Very hard to take away peoples goodies. In Israel the banks have always charged fees so nobody protests. The US banks have been so irresponsible it’s very impossible for anyone to accept these new feels unless they all do it together like the airlines have done.
And BTW – Israeli banks have avoided all the problems that practically the entire worlds banks have endured because of irresponsible lending and business practices.
Why is Bank of America the only bank that is charging these fees? I can understand they have to make a profit one way or the other, but so do all the other banks, and if they are not charging additional charges, why does Bank of America have to?
In return when many people choose to close their account and bank elsewhere, we the consumer have the right to defend ourselves. They can’t complain.