Bank of America CEO: We Have a "Right to Make a Profit"

Bank of America CEO: We Have a "Right to Make a Profit"

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney) -- 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."

"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."

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."

Source: CNN Money

This company is completely out of touch with reality. The reality it exists in only involves million dollar account holders, anyone else simply does not "exist". A lot of account holders want to stay out of loyalty, but I say this, this bank is no longer loyal to you and could not care less about the loyalty you hold for them. Put your savings somewhere they'll gain value, or at the very least not lose it.

I don't see anything wrong with what he said. Whether we like it or not, its true. I'm not saying banks are our friends, but the point of starting a company is to make money.

It's twisted that these people can do this because it is their "right". Yet children can't have a damn lemonade stand. This world we live in is a strange one!

I've heard Assange had documents on the 2012 plan to crash the bank and place the funds in the hands of the stakeholders.

I for one took out my money recently when I suspected it was no longer safe with them.

And we've got a right to not use your bank, too taa loo BofA.

reply to post by JewelFlip


Banks aren't just arbitrarily set up on street corners.. They actually do have to conform to rules and regulations in order to make their profits.

Lemonade stands didn't used to have to do this.

BOA has the right to make a profit. I agree 100%. You have the right to change banks. I agree 100%.

So what is the problem here other than a loudmouthed POS US Senator shooting his mouth off?

If you don't mind the fee, you stay there. If you do mind the fee, you change banks. If enough people change banks, BOA doesn't make a profit and has to rethink the $5 fee. That's it plain and simple.

If you want to gripe, gripe at the politicians, the banks are playing by the rules, if it can be proven that they are not, then that's when somebody gets arrested.

Problem solved.

reply to post by Resonant


everybody has a right to make a profit, so when bank fees prevent me from making a profit, i have a right to bitch and moan and complain and fight against them, we have to eat afterall, and anything making it harder for me to do so and without a choice wether i want to pay it is wrong.

reply to post by juniperberry


I am aware of the fact . It was just my reaction to the concept of having a right to make a profit. One that comes on the back of people trying to get access to their own money.

Sure, they have a right to make a profit just like anyone else.
But, they do not have the right to screw people over to make a profit.

The people have the right to ensure they do not make a profit either, if they are so inclined. We have the right to close our accounts when the "investors" are put before the customers.

We have the right to make them go bankrupt. Let us make an example out of them, and show them what we have the right to do. Lets use capitalism's own rules against them.

If I find that my favorite restaurant has raised their prices by $0.50, I don't cry about how scummy they are. It's a business; they're in it to make money.

If I don't like the changes, I'll ask the reason. If I don't mind, I'll suck it and up and pay the extra. If I can't stand it, I'll take my business elsewhere.

It's not the end of the world.

Originally posted by JewelFlip
reply to post by juniperberry

 

I am aware of the fact

. It was just my reaction to the concept of having a right to make a profit. One that comes on the back of people trying to get access to their own money.

I know of no one who couldn't get access to their money. I do know that their website was hit with a denial of service attack. As I said in a previous post. Go to another bank, open an account and write a check from your BOA account for what you have in the account and deposit it. You may have to wait 48 hours for the check to clear, but, other than that you should have no problem.

My question is "How much of a donation to the DNC was BOA hit up for?".

"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."

I posted this is another thread a few days ago but it didn't get much attention and I feel it's worth repeating here.

If the owners have a duty to make sure a corporation is always functioning as a "healthy business entity" than why doesn't the corporation have a responsibility to make sure it's Human counterparts have the ability to always function healthily. In fact a corporation has no reason to make sure it's profit is fairly distributed between the people which keep the heart of the business pumping. Indeed, a business is succeeding when shareholders are increasing their profit whilst minimizing all other costs, including the cost of paying employees fairly. That means shipping the work offshore and a range of other cost cutting techniques.

It comes down to the fact that you either have ownership of a business or the business owns you. As an employee you are literally an asset to the business. Cutting costs can include liquidating assets which are too expensive or a burden to the business. It can also include minimizing employee payouts until the wages are verging on slave labor. It promotes massive inequality where the rich keep getting richer and poor keep getting poorer. You need to be in it to win it...as it were. It's called capitalism. A dog eat dog world. Anyone can make it big but few ever do. Most people are simply working for the dogs.

EDIT: In this case the people losing out aren't so much the employees as the customers. But I guess all businesses have the right to charge what they want for their product/service. But they must also be able to accept the people who no longer want to keep using that service/product in response to price changes. If you want to close your account at Bank of America they HAVE to let you.

Originally posted by Skewed
Sure, they have a right to make a profit just like anyone else.
But, they do not have the right to screw people over to make a profit.

The people have the right to ensure they do not make a profit either, if they are so inclined. We have the right to close our accounts when the "investors" are put before the customers.

We have the right to make them go bankrupt. Let us make an example out of them, and show them what we have the right to do. Lets use capitalism's own rules against them.

edit on 6-10-2011 by Skewed because: (no reason given)

This is exactly what the Occupy movement should be promoting. Refuse to bank, or at least keep your money in a local credit union. STOP with the credit cards, and do not give your money to any corporation that does not #1. respect the rule of law, 2. Exploits their employees 3. promotes anything that is unhealthy and dangerous to the consumer or environment.

Originally posted by Resonant
Bank of America CEO: We Have a "Right to Make a Profit"

This company is completely out of touch with reality. The reality it exists in only involves million dollar account holders, anyone else simply does not "exist". A lot of account holders want to stay out of loyalty, but I say this, this bank is no longer loyal to you and could not care less about the loyalty you hold for them. Put your savings somewhere they'll gain value, or at the very least not lose it.

If you held stock in Bank of America (having already lost a lot of value in your stocks this year) would you want the CEO to make necessary changes to protect your investment or just let the value of your shares keep dropping in value? After all, by buying stock in the company you expected to get a return, right? You didn’t sign up to lose your money, did you? The company has an obligation to its shareholders to remain profitable (and grow if possible). If Bank of America wasn’t looking out for their shareholders it would have done NOTHING, which seems to be what you’re advocating.

Blame the government for the increase!! They are the people who keep making it harder for businesses to remain profitable.

Originally posted by GringoViejo
I don't see anything wrong with what he said. Whether we like it or not, its true. I'm not saying banks are our friends, but the point of starting a company is to make money.

No, I disagree with you. Banking is not just a business started to make money.
Banking has a stranglehold on everything you do. It's not a hardware store, where you can say, well I'm just not going to go there. You HAVE NO CHOICE but to use money, and not only do you have to give them money to use it to pay bills and live, but they charge you for TAKING your money.

Banks are not other businesses.

They have the right to make a profit but do they have the means?

Did they not take on a whole bunch of bad mortgages?

Are they not up to their eye balls in CDS? (Credit Default Swaps)

If you don't know what credit default swaps are this is where they make a bad loan to someone they don't think can pay, then bet that they will default. And they sell these bets to people. Then people bet on those bets, if those bets are good or bad.

This goes on in your bank.

en.wikipedia.org...

No, BofA, you don't have a right to make a profit. You have a right to attempt to make a profit. PURSUIT of happiness, and all that.

BofA has about as much of a "right" to profitability as people have to healthcare, in my opinion.

...wow.....really?

That CEO is about as smart as a bag of bricks.

He is going to tank BofA and its not going to be worth anything...

Besides I think BofA made RECORD profits from the bailout in 2008 or other bailouts it may have received.

I can find a link somewhere for the record profits somewhere, i can't at the moment though.

My logic in the record profits is the fact they received Billions form the bailouts and lets not forget all the people they laid off.

So that combination is a recipe for profit already.

I am so glad i don't bank with BofA, its controlled by the Vatican anyways.