Awhile back I wrote a major rant against Bank of America CEO after he had the nerve to scold protesters, telling us we shouldn't blame the banks.
Well now that Move your Money day has come and gone, withCredit Unions getting the benefit of some 40,000 new accounts on that one day (a Saturday no less) alone.
But the banks STILL don't get it. They STILL scold us. They STILL refuse to take responsibility for the economic disaster they created. They STILL whine about "big government," get out of paying taxes, and beg for more taxpayer funded, big government bailouts so they can maintain their CEO salaries at record levels.
But their fundamental mistake is that they believe, FIRMLY believe, that we need them more than they need us.
They are wrong. They need us more than we need them...by far. Not only are we their customers, making deposits and taking loans, but we are also the taxpayers who bailed them out. We saved their asses. Truth is, in a REAL free market, Bank of America and Chase would already be out of business, brought down by their own crappy business model and bad customer service, and the remnants of their ruined businesses would already be bought up by better, more successful banks like TD Bank which don't do predatory lending, don't take bailouts, and actually believe in good customer service.
We are consumers. We can take our business elsewhere. Let me be very clear and this is something we all should be shouting from the rooftops: WE DON'T NEED THE PREDATORY BANKS. We can take our business elsewhere.
Bank of America CEO Brian T. Moynihan scolded us customers (for me, I am now mostly a FORMER customer), saying he was "incensed" at criticism of his bank.
Well Mr. CEO Moynihan, sir...did you notice that your stock has dropped from over $50 a share to about $6 a share? To me that marks YOU as a failure. Meanwhile, TD Bank, which did NO predatory lending and took NO taxpayer funded bailout money, has stayed about $70 a share through the entire time Bank of America tanked.
Seriously, Mr. CEO Moynihan, sir...do you have ANY right to be scolding ANYONE given the disgusting performance of your company? HEAR THIS: YOU need us. We do NOT need you. We have alternatives. There are better banks. There are local banks. There are credit unions. We can and WILL leave you behind.
Mr. CEO Moynihan, come back to me with your scolding when you no longer need MY tax money to just stay afloat. In a TRUE free market you and your lousy company would already be bankrupt, with companies like TD Bank buying up the remains of your assets at bargain prices. That is what TRUE capitalism would look like. Mr. CEO Moynihan, sir, you would be out of a job in a real free market. So stop whining and stop scolding and start showing some humility given the failure you represent.
Mr. CEO Moynihan, or should I say Mr. "$50 stock drops to $6 a share under your watch", has no business telling me I shouldn't complain about his lousy company.
I am an investor in the stock market. When the predatory lending scandal hit, and I saw banks like Bank of America tanking, I saw TD Bank as a buying opportunity because they avoided the whole predatory lending mess. My instincts were right...I made tons of money on that purchase. It was clear to me Bank of America made LOTS of mistakes. Their stock dropped and never recovered. Bank of America would be a penny stock or bankrupt if it hadn't been for the taxpayer funded bailout. So how dare Mr. CEO Moynihan show such arrogance? He is a loser, plain and simple. He failed his company and now he is blaming us??? We bailed him out and our anger at his poor business practices are fully justified. He should be THANKING us. Instead he scolds us...well to hell with that. WE DON'T NEED THE PREDATORY BANKS. We have options and will use our not-so-invisible hands to move our money to better financial institutions.
I am also a mortgage holder. I never even considered Bank of America for my mortgage. They weren't even on my radar, Mr. CEO Moynihan. You had nothing to offer me. I was with Wells Fargo. Didn't really like them. So I tried Chase. they dicked me around until I told them to get lost. So I wound up with TD Bank who offered me a good deal and stuck with it. So now I pay my mortgage to TD Bank every single month and Bank of America and Chase can kiss my on-time-paying ass goodbye because they offered me NOTHING despite a solid credit rating and a consistently on time payment record. Again, Bank of America and Chase show what LOUSY business models they work with. And again, Mr. CEO Moynihan shows that he is a LOUSY businessman because HIS bank had nothing to offer me while their stock was plummeting.
I also use credit cards. And here is where I was a big Bank of America customer. Somehow I wound up with most of my credit cards with Bank of America. But I didn't like them. And Mr. CEO Moynihan confirms that Bank of America does not deserve my business. So at this point I have switched almost all my credit card use to Discover and USAA. Bank of America has LOST MY BUSINESS. Got that Mr. CEO Moynihan? You have LOST MY BUSINESS. Losing people like me is why YOUR stock is at $6 a share and TD Bank is at over $70 a share. I am surprised you maintain such arrogance with your tiny $6 a share company! I do NOT need you and I have been moving my money, so don't even bother to scold me with your tiny $6 a share stock.
Smart businessmen know that making customers feel good is the whole trick to doing business. Bank of America, and particularly Mr. CEO Moynihan, have lost sight of that very basic rule of doing business. Without taxpayer bailouts Bank of America would be dead in the water. That is a plain fact. Mr. CEO Moynihan owes American taxpayers his very job. I see Bank of America as a toxic company at this point. They'd have to do a hell of a lot to convince me to patronize them ever again, and when Mr. CEO Moynihan, as CEO of a company, insults me, does he really think it inspires me to become their customer or investor again? Hell no! I have a choice and I will exercise that choice to avoid Bank of America and Chase.
So Mr. CEO Moynihan, sir...you do NOT get my business. You do NOT get my investment. There are better banks out there. I am now mostly doing business with THEM and not with you. And I have some investment in at least one of them (and it doubled in value since I bought it!), but would never touch your toxic stock. I don't need you.
So think about it. Mr. CEO Moynihan is CEO of a company that would be a penny stock or out of business if taxpayers hadn't bailed him out. So who gives a rat's ass if he is "incensed" at our anger? HE is the one who should be begging us for forgiveness. We owe him nothing. We already bailed him out and if we take our business elsewhere, that is his own fault, not ours. Personally I am happy with USAA and TD Bank. Others are switching to credit unions, with membership in credit unions BOOMING.
Move your money day was a great start. But let's keep the momentum going. Let's keep showing the banks that we are sick of predatory lenders and arrogant CEOs. Find a credit union. Find a local bank. Work with USAA if eligible. Work with TD Bank if they are in your area. Not everything is excellent, but ALL are better than Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo and Citibank. And you can check who owns what in your area here. Move your money. Move your credit cards. Refinance your mortgage. I moved my money. And I have been very pleased with the results.
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