Bank of America

This Friday afternoon in downtown Charlotte, please join hundreds of faith leaders, advocates for social justice, students, and progressive activists from across the southeast to demand REAL financial reform.

Remember when Bank of America was NCNB? Remember when your teller and branch manager new your name? Remember when the bank would only give you a loan if you had good credit, good collateral or a cosigner who was good for it - not only because it was the right thing for the bank, but because it was the right thing for you? Remember when the bank paid your checks from the smallest amount to the largest amount so if your math wasn't quite right in your register you might only have one to two checks in overdraft instead of five to six? Remember when your overdraft fee was a reasonable amount instead of a day's pay?

According to MSNBC, Bank of America is shedding smaller numbers of jobs on a weekly basis. They'd already admitted tens of thousands of jobs would have to go. Does cutting them in smaller numbers help reduce the panic in Charlotte as thousands will more than likely lose their jobs by summer? Is this BofA's way of hiding the cuts or are they simply trying to be methodical and careful at each step?

Several major banks have announced they will delay home foreclosures on primary residences while the details of help for homeowners is ironed out. A few more details here.

(cross-posted at dKos)

Let's give credit where credit is due -- Bank of America, and its previous incarnations as NCNB and NationsBank, played a major role in North Carolina's massive economic growth of the past 30 years. Admittedly, it was almost out of necessity--back in the 1970s and 1980s, a lot of banks down here were deathly afraid of being swallowed up by the big New York banks. The solution? Make yourself too rich to eat.

Today, we learn that Bank of America has slapped our state in the face. The AP reports (hat tip to pkbarbiegirl at dKos) that the 12 banks receiving the most from the federal bailout sought permission to bring thousands of foreign workers here for high-paying jobs. According to this NYT chart, Bank of America received $45 billion from the bailout -- more than any bank except Citigroup.

Unless I'm very wrong here, this can only mean one thing -- Bank of America has slapped its home state in the face, and owes it an apology.