Bank merger benefits shareholders, not account holders

Viewpoints

March 12, 2010

By Wes Browne Register Columnist The Richmond Register Fri Mar 12, 2010, 11:43 AM EST

RICHMOND — I have had my personal checking account at the same bank since I was in school. How I chose my bank was simple. My brother-in-law at the time was a branch manager and I opened an account with him. He left my bank and my family years ago, but I have stayed with my bank all these years for a simple reason: It was easy. Now my bank isn’t my bank anymore and it’s time for me to go, too.

Last year, my bank was purchased by a larger bank and shortly thereafter, I started receiving literature from the larger bank explaining that my bank was now part of their “family” and that things would be great. I knew better.

Bank mergers are not intended to benefit bank customers; they are intended to benefit shareholders. I understand that, but frankly the larger bank’s continued insistence that this change was somehow good for me and other customers is rather irritating. The cover of each piece of glossy literature the larger bank has sent me touts this change as exciting and beneficial, but the contents within detail only drawbacks.

Before the bank even changed its name, I heard from friends who suddenly had their credit limits lowered. Eventually, the same thing happened to me. What good news!

Guess what other good news I received? The larger bank is changing the routing number on my checking account. How exciting! Now I get to contact my water company, electric company, waste collection company, credit card company and on and on to change my billing information so my automatic withdrawals all can continue. How I’ve missed dealing with those companies — this will give us a chance to catch up.

It gets better. My debit card account number (that I not only had committed to memory but also had associated with numerous accounts) is changing, too. I was bored with that old card number anyway. Now, I get a fresh new number to learn and replace with the online merchants I frequent. You are probably beginning to understand just how good this is for customers … but that’s not all.

Today, I logged in to online banking and my bank account isn’t there. But that’s okay, I get to go on a new Web site with the larger bank and start from scratch. I am especially looking forward to re-entering the names and addresses of everyone I like to send electronic bank drafts (of course I can only do this after I go to their Web site and enter the not one, but two codes the larger bank sent me to set up online banking with them).

The good news doesn’t end there. I get to pay new fees! My checking account now includes a monthly fee as well as many other fees detailed in an exciting correspondence sent to me by the larger bank. The fun never stops.

I understand these things happen. Most corporations seek to maximize profits and they don’t really care about people (although according to five members of the United States Supreme Court they are people). But you know what? If you tell me you’re going to serve me lima beans and then serve me lima beans, you sold me straight. If you tell me I’m getting ice cream and you serve me lima beans, you’re just being dishonest. I don’t have to like it and I don’t have to stay. Of course, switching banks is also a hassle and will entail many of the same issues. So, I get to choose between lima beans and lima beans. I just want some ice cream.

Wes Browne is a Richmond attorney. He can be reached at http://www.brownelawoffice.com

Text Only

Viewpoints

Europe’s economic tremors offer useful lesson for Kentucky
Americans paying even cursory attention to what’s happening on the other side of the Atlantic are about to get a stark reminder of an economic principle that too often gets pushed to the side – especially during troubling times: No government has ever taxed, spent or borrowed its way to prosperity.

May 27, 2012 1 Photo
Why would anyone not vote?
Should those of us who vote be disturbed that so few people voted in this past Tuesday’s election?
Only 17 percent of Madison County’s registered voters went to the polls. And, not everyone who’s eligible is registered to vote.

May 26, 2012 1 Photo
Republicans are making some noise
FRANKFORT — Last week’s news was mostly about Tuesday’s primary election but some Republicans who were not on the ballot also had interesting things to say.

May 26, 2012 1 Photo
Taking our Sunday night baths
There in the head of Blair Branch, when I was growing up in the 1950s and ‘60s, we always took our weekly baths, even during cold weather, every Sunday night, whether we needed one or not.

May 24, 2012 1 Photo
Obama pursues higher tax rates
In the run-up to this weekend’s G-8 summit at Camp David, journalists have unfavorably compared European “austerity” with Barack Obama’s economic policies.
European spending cuts, the argument goes, have hurt people and are arousing political opposition, while Obama’s proposals to keep federal spending at 24 percent of gross domestic product indefinitely are likely to succeed.

May 21, 2012 1 Photo
Graduation day
It’s that time of year. What’s the old song? “I can still remember...” And I do. It’s what I talk about when I’m invited to be a graduation speaker and what I write about every year at this time.
It’s about all those painful memories.

May 18, 2012 1 Photo
Recent news could cause panic for Obama campaign
Is it panic time at Obama headquarters in Chicago? You might get that impression from watching events – and the polls – over the past few weeks.

May 17, 2012 1 Photo
EPA goes medieval on Kentucky coal
EPA goes medieval on KRoman legions? Horrific crucifixions? Sacking dissenters and making examples out of their deaths?
These may sound like some of the gruesome tactics used by military commanders of the ancient world, but according to Al Armendariz, who, until recently, was regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, it’s much more relevant to modern America than we’d care to believe.

May 13, 2012 1 Photo
Don’t just pick out a card
When Anna Jarvis launched the movement for a Mother’s Day observance in 1908, her intention was to have everyone write their mother a letter, putting some thought and sincerity into thanking and telling her what she had meant to them.
Unsurprisingly, the idea caught on quickly and became very popular. But, Jarvis was disappointed with the outcome.

May 12, 2012 1 Photo
Returning to a calmer situation
FRANKFORT – After a two-month absence, I’ve returned to Frankfort where things seem calmer than when I left.

May 11, 2012 1 Photo
More Viewpoints Headlines

Viewpoints

Search Results

Bank merger benefits shareholders, not account holders

A recent health ranking listed Madison County as the 20th healthiest county in the state. It measured factors such as exercise, access to health care and smoking. Do you smoke cigarettes?

Site Map