Bank of America in the news again
From Bob Owens writing at
PJ Media:
BREAKING: Bank of America Reportedly Drops Gun Company for Political Reasons
Bailout recipient Bank of America has severed relations with an American company because of a reported bias against their industry. McMillan Group International released an extraordinary statement on Facebook regarding the incident:McMillan Fiberglass Stocks, McMillan Firearms Manufacturing, McMillan Group International have been collectively banking with Bank of America for 12 years. Today Mr. Ray Fox, Senior Vice President, Market Manager, Business Banking, Global Commercial Banking came to my office. He scheduled the meeting as an �account analysis� meeting in order to evaluate the two lines of credit we have with them. He spent five minutes talking about how McMillan has changed in the last five years and have become more of a firearms manufacturer than a supplier of accessories.
At this point I interrupted him and asked �Can I possible save you some time so that you don�t waste your breath? What you are going to tell me is that because we are in the firearms manufacturing business you no longer what my business.�
�That is correct� he says.
I replied �That is okay, we will move our accounts as soon as possible. We can find a Second Amendment friendly bank that will be glad to have our business. You won�t mind if I tell the NRA, SCI and everyone one I know that BofA is not firearms industry friendly?�
A bit more about McMillan:
McMillan is heavily involved with U.S. national security. McMillan rifle stocks are the standard for the Marine Corps� favored M40A3 sniper rifle. McMillan products, from stocks and other accessories to complete rifles, are used by U.S. regular and special forces and by American military allies around the globe.
A bit more about Bank of America:
Per McMillan�s statement, a politically partisan bank has severed the lines of credit to a company important to our national security. This act has likely added difficulty to the company�s ability to operate, to research product improvements, and to deliver products on time. Bank of America�s stance � especially if this signals a new policy regarding dealing with all arms manufacturers � could potentially effect the readiness of American soldiers in combat zones and the operational efficiency of some of America�s most highly trained and effective units.
Bank of America was the recipient of well over 100 billion dollars in federal money. They are also one of just two vendors processing payments for Barack Obama�s 2012 presidential campaign, employing a system that disables safeguards against illegal foreign donations. Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, is the site of the Democratic Nation Convention in September.
This is at least the third time Bank of America has implemented a discriminatory policy against gun manufacturers. In early 2001, a scandal erupted over the bank�s attempt to discriminate against another Arizona-based company. The resulting public outrage forced a reversal of the policy.
In 2010, Bank of America attempted a similar action, and was again forced to �clarify� their position:Bank of America does not have a corporate-wide policy to deny banking services solely on the applicant�s involvement in the firearms industry.
No other gun manufacturer or gun rights group has reacted to the McMillan Facebook post at this time.
Back when the whole house of cards started to fall apart, we switched every one of our accounts from BofA over to a local Credit Union -- that was one personal account and four business accounts. We were perfectly happy with the Bellingham branch we worked with -- very nice people. This was specifically because of the rot and crony capitalism at the top.
Posted by DaveH at April 20, 2012 6:14 PM