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View Full Version : REPLY FROM BofA on credit cards????????



Not So Fast
02-25-2007, 06:49 AM
When I emailed them about issuing CC to illegals this was their reponse
Greetings from Bank of America
Thank you for your inquiry dated 2/24/07 regarding Credit Cards. We
will be happy to assist you.
Bank of America created this pilot in Los Angeles to help current
customers who have deposits with us, but little or no credit history,
build a credit history. The program is consistent with our goal of
helping our customers meet their financial needs.
We are careful to comply with U.S. laws and regulations, including the
USA Patriot Act, and use the same criteria to extend credit across our
entire customer base. We require all customers to provide us with two
forms of identification, one of which must be an unexpired U.S. or
foreign government-issued identification card. Our banking center
associates then verify the customer's identity.
Customers who sign up for this particular credit card program must also
have an existing deposit account with us.
This program is being piloted in predominantly Hispanic communities in
southern California, and offers a secured credit card to existing Bank
of America deposit account holders who have little or no credit history.
We value you as a customer and appreciate your business. If we may be
of further assistance, please contact us again by e-mail. Thank you for choosing Bank of America.

Not So Fast
02-25-2007, 06:51 AM
Sort of funny that THEY brought up Hispanics seeing how I never mentioned that word. All I said was ILLEGALS?????????????? NSF

TOBTEK
02-25-2007, 07:47 AM
I've now have 4 refi's going, from people taking all their business away from BoA. I think and hope they will see the backlash they are creating.

MikeF
02-25-2007, 07:58 AM
Dad said a lady he knows who had her account there for over 50 years (if I remember correctly).....went in there and closed her account! Good for her!

MR.rvrluvr
02-25-2007, 07:59 AM
looks like a scripted letter. Must be getting alot of bad emails and they just hit the send reply button

RitcheyRch
03-01-2007, 11:10 AM
http://cbs2.com/topstories/topstories_story_060135041.html
When Bank of America Corp. said it was testing a new credit card available to customers who may be illegal immigrants, the reaction was predictably harsh.
Outspoken critics of illegal immigration called for a boycott and said the bank could be supporting terrorists and drug traffickers. Some outraged customers closed accounts and sent back their cards, chopped into little pieces. The bank's chief executive, Ken Lewis, admitted that "finding oneself in the middle of a heated national debate is never pleasant."
But Bank of America isn't the first to offer such a card: Citigroup Inc. said it has done so for years, and Wells Fargo & Co. says it's thinking about it. The cards are merely the latest progression for an industry that has spent millions to attract customers in the country's growing Latino community -- and among the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States.
They also reflect a fact faced by every retail business in the United States. While they can't legally employ undocumented workers, there are few, if any, restrictions on welcoming them as customers.
"As a business owner, you sell to whomever comes into your store. You sell to whomever buys from you online. It's easy, normally," said Steven Camarota, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington. "Just in some cases where specific identification is needed, like in financial services, it's more complicated."
But getting less so. Last month, Bank of America said it had started a pilot program in the Los Angeles area late last year that didn't require a Social Security number to sign up for a credit card. The Charlotte-based bank insists the card isn't specifically designed to attract illegal immigrants, and says that so far, it has not.
The bank hasn't decided if it will offer the card elsewhere, but it would likely be popular with a population that generally lacks access to something as common in most American wallets as the dollar bill and a driver's license.
"It's a no brainer. It's a very large market," said Jim Johnson, director of the Urban Investment Strategies Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "The bank is just the latest example of a major corporation recognizing the impact of doing business with Hispanics."
In 2005, the nation's 6.6 million illegal immigrant families had an average annual income of $29,500 and accounted for nearly $200 billion in purchasing power, a figure that's only expected to grow, said Pew Hispanic Center demographer Jeff Passel.
"They are impacting the economy," Passel said. "The unauthorized are explicitly coming for an economic basis."
While credit card use among the nation's 42 million Hispanics is on the rise, a substantial number of Latino households don't have access to credit, according a survey conducted by the National Council of La Raza, which found that 80 percent of American households use credit cards compared with only 56 percent of Hispanic households.
For years, U.S. banks have made attracting immigrants a major focus of their business strategy, working to sell services that include everything from traditional checking accounts to wire transfers used to send money to relatives back home.
Customers don't typically need a Social Security number to open a standard banking account. Instead, they can identify themselves by using an ID card provided by the Mexican Consulate to its citizens, known as a matricula consular, or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) issued by the Internal Revenue Service.
At Bank of America, the pilot program in Los Angeles allows customers to use such forms of identification to also sign up for a credit card. The card is similar to secured cards offered to those with poor credit: it requires customers to have an account with the bank that's been in good standing for at least three months and comes with a reimbursable upfront fee of $99.
"This initiative lets customers build a solid credit history with a leading bank," Bank of America spokeswoman Betsy Weinberger said.
Still, Camarota said most Americans don't think businesses should go out of their way to cater to illegal immigrants. "Some say it's bad corporate citizenship," he said.
Critics of illegal immigration have said providing credit to illegal immigrants further embeds the population into American society. Many worry that without a Social Security number, the bank can't be sure the card's customers won't use the credit for criminal activity, such as terrorism or drug trafficking.
"We just see this as another step to put our country at risk so they can make a few extra dollars," said Rod Woodard, director of NC Listen, an immigration reform organization based in Cary, N.C.
The attention has rattled America's largest retail bank. Lewis responded to the controversy in a column in The Wall Street Journal, writing the bank is complying with the provisions of the USA Patriot Act, which set up the guidelines that allows the bank to accept official identification sources issued by foreign governments -- including the matricula consular.
"And I observe no shortage of irony in the efforts of those whose first concern is national security, but who seek to undermine a regulatory structure that was designed in large part to thwart terrorism," Lewis wrote. He said only 16 percent of customers to sign up for the card so far lack a Social Security number.
"We believe we have an obligation to serve all those in our country who are legally eligible to receive services," Lewis wrote. "To do less would be discriminatory and unfair."

desertbird
03-01-2007, 12:34 PM
In 2005, the nation's 6.6 million illegal immigrant families had an average annual income of $29,500 and accounted for nearly $200 billion in purchasing power, a figure that's only expected to grow, said Pew Hispanic Center demographer Jeff Passel.
"They are impacting the economy," Passel said. "The unauthorized are explicitly coming for an economic basis."
.....and not a F*&^%CKIN' DIME paid in INCOME TAX, SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDI-CAL, or any other free program they all DEMAND to have access to. :mad: :mad: :mad:

RitcheyRch
03-01-2007, 01:08 PM
Isnt that the truth. :mad:
.....and not a F*&^%CKIN' DIME paid in INCOME TAX, SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDI-CAL, or any other free program they all DEMAND to have access to. :mad: :mad: :mad:

Not So Fast
03-01-2007, 01:26 PM
looks like a scripted letter. Must be getting alot of bad emails and they just hit the send reply button
Ya think?? I replied asking if either form of I.D. they required proved the applicants were legal citizens of the U.S. and I sent it to the attention of the guy who signed the first one. Guess what I got back, yep, the same frigging letter from some other yahoo flunky, SAME DAMN LETTER!!!!!!! We are going to the Bank of America, ahem, the Bank of Amexico and pay off any balance and then cancel the card and cut it up right there. Will it do anygood, probably not but we will feel like we made a difference. I'll never do a bit of business again with them but what do they care they've got all the illegals so f'em!!! NSF