Bank of America takes a stand against gun businesses

[AZarmament]

A bit about Bank of America. They are again showing their anti-gun tendencies. I was just refused a line of credit by BOA. I had hopes of growing the business with the benefit of the bank that I have had a lengthy and substantial relationship with.

I was simply floored when I was told by the Bank of America credit analyst that I was being denied credit due to the "nature of my business". It seems that Bank of America after viewing my web store made a determination that underwriting businesses that sell quality weapons accessories is a violation of corporate policy.

I have since been told by BOA representatives that my sort of business fits into an undesirable category of business entities that includes online porn merchants and payday check cashing establishments. Yes, their exact words.

They can't seem to appreciate that my business is recorded with the GSA's Central Contractor Registration as well as Dunn & Bradstreet. Most of the items that I sell are currently listed in the GSA advantage catalog and made available to state and local governments as well as all Federal agencies.

My local branch was eager to open a business account with the full knowledge that I sell weapons accessories. At the time I opened my business account no such policy seemed to be in place. Now they are scrambling to find out what Corporate Bank of America is up to.

If you are having similar difficulties with BOA mention it here and notify me as well. I have asked for NRA help with this and also requested that the Second Amendment Foundation cease their business dealings with BOA. They currently offer BOA investment products on their homepage. -Rich


AZarmament.com

[federalist22]

Rich,

I have ordered from you in the past--great service by the way. I have never been a BOA customer and would never do so after the stories came out on their avid support illegal immigration (giving out loans, lines of credit, and accounts)--sorry to bring politics in here, but there is a legal way to do things and BOA supports the illegal way.

Your issue is a shocker--bad economy, no jobs........no wonder our economy is having problems. If every bank followed BOA's example of limiting the small business loans being doled out based on business nature we would screwed even more as a country. Way to go BOA, way to stifle the economy even more! BOA is a bailout bank anyway.

Are you prior service military? I assume so. Try out a non-bailout bank.

If so call USAA if you have not tried them--I could be wrong, but they are now taking anyone who has ever served, not just active duty, for membership. They are ranked the highest of all banks in virtually every category by JD Power Assoc--it's just that the membership is exclusive to military and family members. I have been a Navy Federal Credit Union and USAA member for about 10 years and I have no complaints. If you are a veteran or retiree, give them a call and join up - https://www.usaa.com/inet/ent_logon/Logon.

Or, you could check out Navy Federal Credit Union - https://www.navyfcu.org/.



Screw BOA!

- Adam

[Mat]

Like everyone else I thought clusterbombs fall into the online porn category as well, but apparently BoA will pay for those.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE59S4DL20091029

[Jim1973]

BOA ins't even an American bank. I forget if Saudi Arabia owns BOA or Bank of California but neither are American owned.

Granted, you are hard pressed to find any American owned companies anymore.

Jim

[GraphiteBrawler]

Thats terrible man. Being in NYC i work with Chase bank, and they would NEVER do something of that nature.

It's business, not a church, people can run their own lives as they see fit.

i believe thats what millions died for in the 1940's.

[Optimus Prime]

Just one of the reasons I prefer Credit Unions.

[Cold Zero]

That is terrible about BOA. I hope you put the word out as best you can and get the NRA's support on that.

BTW, avoid Chase bank, they are business and children unfriendly. What kind of a Bank does not even give out Children's Piggy Banks anymore?

Chase recently closed my unused Home Equity line of credit. In their infinite wisdom, they determined without doing an appraisal that my home is now worth less than I owe on it and closed the HEL.

If they had bothered to send an appraiser, then they would have known that the house had an extensive year long Gut Reno and is now worth about double, what I owe on it. It went from the worst house on the block to the best house on the block. They wanted me to pay the expense of having an appraisal done, for them even to consider keepping the line open. They haven't a clue. I switched from Chase, to WAMU just to get away from their B.S. and we all know how that worked out.

Suggest you look into TD Bank, for a bank that will want your business's business.

[jestertoo]

To the guy that said BOA is owned by the Saudi's, you are incorrect.

BOA is a publicly traded company. They might own stock in the company, but they don't own it in whole.

[GraphiteBrawler]

That is terrible about BOA. I hope you put the word out as best you can and get the NRA's support on that.

BTW, avoid Chase bank, they are business and children unfriendly. What kind of a Bank does not even give out Children's Piggy Banks anymore?

Chase recently closed my unused Home Equity line of credit. In their infinite wisdom, they determined without doing an appraisal that my home is now worth less than I owe on it and closed the HEL.

If they had bothered to send an appraiser, then they would have known that the house had an extensive year long Gut Reno and is now worth about double, what I owe on it. It went from the worst house on the block to the best house on the block. They wanted me to pay the expense of having an appraisal done, for them even to consider keepping the line open. They haven't a clue. I switched from Chase, to WAMU just to get away from their B.S. and we all know how that worked out.

Suggest you look into TD Bank, for a bank that will want your business's business.

I wasn't suggesting Chase, but WOW, i'm sorry for your experience. I've never had a problem with them.

I guess the rule of thumb is Banks will screw you these days, no matter who you are.

[Stickman]

So they are denying you the ability to help LE and MIL in needed equipment?


Just another angle to consider if you deal with them again. Personally, I would dump them, but I understand thats easy to say when I'm not the one who has all my business tied up with them.

Sorry to hear about your aggravation.

[MerQ]

Sorry to hear about your situation. If it's any consolation they aren't the primary institution for MIL Credit Cards if nothing else (or at least partially) for poor service in general often overcharging members or at least not keeping their records current always.

[lanesmith]

Just a little perspective from a guy whose wife works at BOA Corporate. Most of these decisions for personal or small business credit are made by middle managers who are not even at the lower executive level. Keep in mind that BOA has over 250,000 worldwide employees. So, it is not surprising that a few backwards thinking individual might make crazy decisions such as this one that do not get noticed by the right people at the bank. However, I'd be careful letting this incident discolor BOA as "antigun." If it is still worth your time, I would follow through with your plan to contact the NRA / 2nd Amendment Foundation. I suspect that their initial decision will be reversed when this makes it up the chain of command. Unfortunately, this is the price of using large banks that use economies of scale to offer lower rates than the smaller banks. Good luck and keep us posted.

[AZarmament]

A BOA district manager spoke with me today. He was able to confirm through a conversation with BOA corporate that it is now a written BOA corporate policy not to underwrite gun businesses. NRA will hopefully pursue this at the national level. BOA tried a similar position in 2001 and quickly reversed themselves after the bad press.

[nb118677hc]

This revelation falls right in line with many other pathetic aspects of "Bank of Amerika."

The irony, a bank whose name pays phony patriotic lip service on one hand while perpetuating pragmatic do-gooding and contradictive policies on the other.

As a former employee, contractor and business/personal banking customer, I can say with confidence that BOFA is in many ways operating under principles which are counter to the founding essence of America.

IMO, they should be avoided in all but the most compelling cases.

Might want to check into BB&T.

[Devilphish]

Sorry to hear about your ordeal. Just another reason why I keep a BoA account if I have a need to travel, but do most of my business with small local banks or credit unions.