Jim Hightower: Big Bankers Mounting Sneak Attack on Consumers

[marmar]

Big Bankers Mounting Sneak Attack on Consumers

By Jim Hightower, AlterNet. Posted July 10, 2009.

The largest banking chains are going out of their way to stiff us.




Have you received your thank-you note? I'm still waiting for mine.

More than a year into the Wall Street bailout, I've yet to get any sort of "thank you" from even a single one of the big banks that you and I propped up with $12 trillion in direct giveaways, indirect giveaways, government guarantees and sweetheart loans. You'd think their mommas would've taught them better. But I've begun to think that waiting on a simple gesture of banker gratitude is like waiting on Donald Trump to have a good hair day -- ain't gonna happen.

Far from showing appreciation, the largest banking chains are now going out of their way to stiff us. Instead of nice notes, they are quietly slipping new gotchas into our monthly credit card bills and bank statements. In June, for example, Bank of America abruptly raised its fee for a basic checking account by 50 percent. Citibank jacked up the interest rate on some of its cards to 29.99 percent. And JPMorgan Chase more than doubled the required minimum payment on its cards.

Across the board, fees have skyrocketed to their highest levels on record, including assessments for such common occurrences as overdrafts (as high as $39), stop-payment actions ($39 -- double what it was 10 years ago), balance transfers (up more than 50 percent in the past year) and ATM use (nearly doubled in 10 years).

To add insult to injury, the banks blame us for their rate increases. Because the economy is such a wreck (massive job losses, falling incomes, millions of home foreclosures and other unpleasantness), industry spokesmen say there is a greater risk that customers will bounce checks or fall behind on their credit-card payments. Thus, claim purse-lipped bankers, they must protect themselves from us by ratcheting up rates and fees. "There is an increased riskiness around repayment because of the recession," spaketh one lobbyist for the financial giants. ........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/workplace/141192/big_bankers_mounting_sneak_attack_on_consumers/

[Vinnie From Indy]

1. The attacks don't look sneaky to me

The big banks are kicking Americans in the crotch and calling us all "suckers".

[Native]

3. I agree - these are full-frontal attacks. n/t

[tbyg52]

5. And giving us the rasperry and the finger. nt

[Hydra]

2. And people here thought giving them money was a good idea...

I'd like to hear what the supporters of Capitalism have to say regarding "Competition" and "The Invisible Hand" in this case. It would seem there are fewer banks, and they tell us they are too big to fail, so we have to prop them up and give them MORE money so that they can continue not to lend...

Great system we have there...

[Blue_Tires]

4. imo, the issue was not the bailout money

the problem was giving the banks the money WITHOUT some very strict conditions and reforms...there was never a better time to exercise leverage, and the White House let them all off the hook...

[tbyg52]

6. I'm still trying to figure out if the White House

is complicit, stupid, scared, bought, or has something up its sleeve.

Long odds on the last, unfortunately.

[midnight]

7. They have all the mechanisms rigged and in their favor.

We get to watch and learn. Hopefully one of us will be smart enough to stop this.