Enough Is Enough!

Bank Transfer Day allowed customers to show banks who's in chargeby Jissel Garcia.Lately, emotions have been running high all across the United States. Americans are angry at banks over the mortgage crisis, bailouts and executives getting bonuses while regular people suffer. This bubbling rage helped spark Occupy Wall Street.A recent move by Bank of America to charge customers $5 a month to use their own debit cards made a bad situation worse. Though the bank backed down, many customers remain upset.“Banks are leeches, determined to bleed the working man as much as possible,” says Angelo Hall, a junior at CCNY.  “In one of the worst economic periods since the Great Depression, with all-time highs of unemployment and foreclosures, banks continue to abuse us - the very people who keep them alive. They’re using us as puppets, and I’m at the point where I’m ready to close my bank account. I won’t stand for it.”He’s not the only one.On Facebook, well over 77,000 individuals confirmed being part of Bank Transfer Day, an event on November 5 organized to encourage consumers  to close their bank accounts and move their money to credit unions and community banks. Triggered by Bank of America’s initial decision to add a monthly fee, banks like Wells Fargo, SunTrust, and JP Morgan Chase also hopped on board in an attempt to stay competitive – at first. But Bank Transfer Day picked up enough momentum to scare the banks off, making them drop all plans to slap on fees.And no wonder: Customers have transferred $4.5 billion from big banks to credit unions since the beginning of the initiative, reports the Credit Union National Association. On Bank Transfer Day itself, $80 million was deposited into new accounts by way of 40,000 new members nationwide. Also reported: $90 million in new loans. Credit unions and community banks celebrated the occasion as customers jammed parking lots ready to make decisive change.“I feel free now," says Annie Ramirez, a former Bank of America customer. "I mean, it’s not even entirely about the monthly fee they had proposed, but their motives behind the whole thing."Initially, the fees had been implemented to target lower-end consumers. According to the Bank Transfer Day Facebook page, major banks decided that “beginning in early 2012, any consumer with less than $20,000 in combined accounts will be charged a monthly $3-5 fee if they use their debit card at any point during the month. This is a blatant attack on the 99% that cannot & will not be tolerated.”November 5^th gave thousands the opportunity to stick it to the banks. Yet even amidst these cheering closed fisters, a looming reality left a bad taste in the mouths of many.“Even though the banks backed out, this isn’t the last we’ll hear from them. They need to recuperate from all their financial loss,” says Alba Silva, a CCNY sophomore and ‘99 percent-er.’ “They’ll find some other way to try and make us feed their greed. They can try, but at this point I think more and more people are becoming aware of what’s really going on, and we’re all sick of it.”Hall agrees with her. “We will continue to occupy establishments, streets, and cities until change is made. We will continue to raise awareness until our message is heard. We will NOT back down, and we will NOT be taken advantage of. It’s always a dirty business with these banks…dirty rats!”