Norse_soul
02-16-2007, 06:05 PM
Bank of America takes heat on credit-card plan
February 15, 2007
Bank of America's new credit-card marketing campaign aimed at Hispanics who lack Social Security numbers -- typically illegal immigrants -- is attracting a storm of opposition.
In recent years, banks across the country have begun offering checking accounts and, in some cases, mortgages to the nation's fast-growing ranks of undocumented immigrants, most of whom are Hispanic. But these immigrants generally haven't been able to get major credit cards, making it hard for them to develop a credit history and expand their purchasing power.
The new Bank of America program is open to people who lack both a Social Security number and a credit history, as long as they have held a checking account with the bank for three months without an overdraft.
One indication of the backlash surfaced Tuesday night on the CNN program "Lou Dobbs Tonight." In an interview with a program correspondent, a Bank of America spokeswomen expressed puzzlement at the public criticism of the credit-card effort.
Dobbs stormed, "Well, is she just some kind of idiot? Why would she expect there not to be a reaction to providing services from the Bank of America to people who do not have Social Security cards, who are in this country illegally? What kind of -- what kind of moron would expect any kind of reaction other than that?"
The Charlotte, N.C., banking giant defends the program, saying it complies with U.S. banking and antiterrorism laws.
Company executives say the initiative isn't about politics, but rather about meeting the needs of an untapped group of potential customers.
''These people are coming here for quality of life, and they deserve somebody to give them a chance to achieve that quality of life,'' said Brian Tuite, the bank's director of Latin America card operations and one of the architects of the program.
AP, Wall Street Journal
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
http://www.suntimes.com/business/258038,CST-FIN-Bank15.article
February 15, 2007
Bank of America's new credit-card marketing campaign aimed at Hispanics who lack Social Security numbers -- typically illegal immigrants -- is attracting a storm of opposition.
In recent years, banks across the country have begun offering checking accounts and, in some cases, mortgages to the nation's fast-growing ranks of undocumented immigrants, most of whom are Hispanic. But these immigrants generally haven't been able to get major credit cards, making it hard for them to develop a credit history and expand their purchasing power.
The new Bank of America program is open to people who lack both a Social Security number and a credit history, as long as they have held a checking account with the bank for three months without an overdraft.
One indication of the backlash surfaced Tuesday night on the CNN program "Lou Dobbs Tonight." In an interview with a program correspondent, a Bank of America spokeswomen expressed puzzlement at the public criticism of the credit-card effort.
Dobbs stormed, "Well, is she just some kind of idiot? Why would she expect there not to be a reaction to providing services from the Bank of America to people who do not have Social Security cards, who are in this country illegally? What kind of -- what kind of moron would expect any kind of reaction other than that?"
The Charlotte, N.C., banking giant defends the program, saying it complies with U.S. banking and antiterrorism laws.
Company executives say the initiative isn't about politics, but rather about meeting the needs of an untapped group of potential customers.
''These people are coming here for quality of life, and they deserve somebody to give them a chance to achieve that quality of life,'' said Brian Tuite, the bank's director of Latin America card operations and one of the architects of the program.
AP, Wall Street Journal
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
http://www.suntimes.com/business/258038,CST-FIN-Bank15.article