Bank of America starts offering credit cards to illegal immigrants

[floriflee]

I did a quick search and couldn't find anything already posted on it, but I found this article (http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2007/02/12/daily18.html?f=et52&hbx=e_du) rather interesting:

Bank of America, Corp. has begun offering credit cards to customers without Social Security numbers, a group that typically includes illegal immigrants.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the BofA card is open to individuals without a Social Security number or a credit history, as long as they have held a checking account with the bank for three months without an overdraft.

Charlotte, N.C.-based BofA (NYSE: BAC) tested the program last year at five branches in Los Angeles. Last week, BofA -- Greater Baltimore's biggest bank -- expanded it to 51 branches in Los Angeles County, the newspaper says.

The bank hopes to roll out the program nationally this year.

A North Carolina elected official said he had mixed feelings about the news.

"The general community here in the United States is somewhat against illegal immigrants by the fact of their being illegal," said Dan Ramirez, a Mecklenburg County commissioner and founder and chairman of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly of North Carolina. "On the other hand, I truly believe in the power of a market-based economy. Bank of America is a private entity and is taking the risks in doing this."

He added: "I don't blame Bank of America. They have a market out there and they are catering to it."

A Bank of America spokesman was unavailable to comment.

U.S. banks have been offering checking accounts and mortgages to the nation's fast-growing ranks of undocumented immigrants, most of whom are Hispanic, the newspaper said, adding these immigrants generally have not been able to get major credit cards.

I am curious to see how this affects interest rates, if at all, and how well the new clientele will handle the debt. Will they do better/worse than the average American?

[nbs2]

I thought all this SSN lockdown was to catch terrorists and those who would finance - don't the checking accounts offered provide a huge opening for them?

[zimv20]

I thought all this SSN lockdown was to catch terrorists
yeah, that's what i thought, too. according to the Fidelity notice i've got taped to my wall (in part):

The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 requires Fidelity (and other financial institutions) to obtain your name, Social Security number, date of birth, and address to verify your identity.

[BoyBach]

I thought all this SSN lockdown was to catch terrorists and those who would finance - don't the checking accounts offered provide a huge opening for them?

yeah, that's what i thought, too. according to the Fidelity notice i've got taped to my wall...


Have you forgotten that the Dollar is God?

[princealfie]

Have you forgotten that the Dollar is God?

Woohoo! Someone's got the right idea behind all this.

[obeygiant]

Is an illegal immigrant higher risk for a $300-$500 credit card than, let say, a college freshman? I'd like to see some numbers on the cards that are never paid back.

[smueboy]

Having a social doesn't guarantee you a credit card, a legal immigrant with a new SSN can't get a card due to lack of a credit history (which is the ultimate chicken and the egg conundrum, if you consider that without a credit card building a credit history is pretty hard, but i digress). So, allowing people with no SSN to obtain a card seems odd.

[srf4real]

Money talks and the undesirable illegals are making it. Dealing drugs, guns, grand theft auto, etc... but it's hard to buy a $10 mil mansion with cash - raises alot of eyebrows. Give 'em a credit line so they don't have to report all their income to the IRS. :rolleyes:

Then, there are the illegal but honest hard workers who are the bedrock of our economy. Do you think they can afford to get a tax id number to bypass immigration officials? Heck no! They're still just as desperate as the day they set foot in America.

I e-mailed Bank America to complain and they sent me a form letter:

"Thank you for contacting Bank of America.

Bank of America prides itself on looking for innovative ways to extend
credit to individuals who have demonstrated sound financial management,
but may be challenged with building credit, such as life-long cash
users, or rebuilding their credit histories.

Like many of our programs, this credit card initiative is meant to
educate existing customers about building a solid credit history. We use
the same criteria to extend credit across our entire customer base.
Customers who sign up for this particular credit card program must meet
the following requirements:

- Have an existing deposit account.
- Have either a Social Security Number (SSN) or proof of United States
government federal taxpayer status, such as a federal government
Taxpayer ID Number (TIN). The USA PATRIOT Act customer ID requirements
are fulfilled for all Bank of America customers.

Given we have 5,700 banking centers throughout the country, this is a
very small pilot that educates and helps existing Hispanic customers
understand how to develop good credit history in 51 Los Angeles banking
centers.

If you have any further questions please feel free to contact us from
the web via http://www.bankofamerica.com/contact .

Sincerely,

Lauren F.
Bank of America"

:mad: :rolleyes:

[floriflee]

Is an illegal immigrant higher risk for a $300-$500 credit card than, let say, a college freshman? I'd like to see some numbers on the cards that are never paid back.

I would think that illegal immigrants might be a bit more of a higher risk because they could be a lot harder to track as they have less avenues of leaving a paper trail to track them down if they are suddenly unable to pay their bills.

[jessica.]

Well $500 will buy them a social security number in Los Angeles. Go BofA!!!

[floriflee]

An update (http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2007/02/19/daily39.html?f=et52&hbx=e_du) on the issue...

of America Corp. Chief Executive Ken Lewis has written an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal defending the bank's decision to market credit cards to customers without Social Security cards, a group that typically includes illegal immigrants.

The BofA card is open to individuals without a Social Security number or a credit history, as long as they have held a checking account with the bank for three months without an overdraft.


Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) is Greater Baltimore's largest bank when ranked by commercial lending and deposits.

Lewis, writing in the opinion piece Thursday, said, "The program is not about illegal immigrants and never was. It is designed to help Bank of America customers build a credit history."

Lewis said the USA Patriot Act, passed after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, "allows financial institutions to accept some official identification sources issued by foreign governments, including the matricula consular, an ID issued by Mexican consulate offices to its nationals living outside Mexico, as valid."

Lewis went on to say that denying services to individuals who can legally use BofA products would encourage them to use underground financial services.

Lewis says 84 percent of the customers in the BofA pilot program, which started in Los Angeles, have provided the bank with Social Security numbers. The remaining 16 percent meet the requirements for government-issued identification, he said.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank hopes to roll out the program nationally this year.

As of June 30, BofA had nearly $591 billion in deposits. The company operates 5,800 retail banking offices and nearly 17,000 ATMs.