The Glade 4.0

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- For a movement without an agenda, Occupy Wall Street is off to a pretty good start--scaring JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and SunTrust Banks away from their plans to charge customers who use their debit cards to make purchases.

None of these banks cited Occupy Wall Street in explaining their reversal, and because Occupy Wall Street does not speak with one voice, it cannot be said to have demanded these banks reverse course on their planned fees.

Still, it does not take a genius to figure out that charging fees to consumers for their use of debit cards is exactly the kind of thing nearly all participants in Occupy Wall Street would be likely to oppose. What the movement is doing, as many commentators have pointed out recently, is changing the national conversation, much as the Tea Party did before dealing Democrats a resounding defeat in the Congressional mid-term elections.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has been a prominent target of the protestors (see video above). Dimon, a defiant critic of many proposed financial services industry reforms, has been hinting at the fee increase ever since his famous statement in the wake of the passage of Dodd Frank financial reform legislation: "If you're a restaurant and you can't charge for the soda, you're going to charge more for the burger."

Still, it was Bank of America was out in front in announcing the new debt fee, drawing heaps of scorn upon itself, as TheStreet found out in a recent poll. Bank of America is now reported to be reconsidering aspects of its fee program, according to The Wall Street Journal. Bank spokespeople did not return an email message seeking to confirm the report.

-- Written by Dan Freed in New York.

Moo, there were probably a dozen signs or whatever at OWS decrying the fees. Thus, it's a victory.

In other words, if you're so disorganized that you have every view possible represented and clamoring to be heard amongst the racket, no matter what happens, you are victorious.

Or something.

If we take a more rational, logical approach to this whole thing -- these protesters are not holding down jobs while they Occupy Wall Street, they are not paying interest on loans and threatening to take those loans elsewhere, etc.

I don't know why on earth any rational human being would believe that a bank changed its fee structure based on the pleas of people who are clearly not their customers, nor customers they would want to attract.

If we take a more rational, logical approach to this whole thing -- these protesters are not holding down jobs while they Occupy Wall Street, they are not paying interest on loans and threatening to take those loans elsewhere, etc.

I.. um.. work for Wells Fargo..

Wells Fargo piloted the debit card fees in 5 states, and about 2 weeks later they retracted the idea after seeing the backlash from their own customers' feedback in words and in actions - there were a lot of complaints and a lot of accounts closed (and I mean a LOT- like 2/5 of the people who stopped by and talked to the personal bankers during those 2 weeks came in to close their accounts) during those 2 weeks which prompted the higher-ups to rethink their strategy.

the newsletters we've gotten never even mentioned OWS. though, they DID point out that BoA is continuing with the debit card activity fees, but they're adjusting the amount and offering ways to minimize/negate the fees like higher balance requirements etc.

Many of the OWS protestors are employed. Some come only on the weekends or at night. (e.g., The Marine hurt in Oakland was working during the day, and staying at the protests at night.) Yes, many are also unemployed, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they're not using banks or paying their bills.

There's a group trying to get folks to pull their money out of the TBTF banks and put it into community banks and credit unions. I think it overlaps with OWS, but isn't the same.

(My bf is leaving BoA finally due to their fees, and going to Navy Federal Credit Union. But he decided that independently of any group saying he should. The only BoA account I have now is my car loan - they had eaten my last 2 or 3 banks, and I ditched them for USAA for checking/savings.)

19 Yet she became more and more promiscuous as she recalled the days of her youth, when she was a prostitute in Egypt. 20 There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses.

Join them if you feel the value.

19 Yet she became more and more promiscuous as she recalled the days of her youth, when she was a prostitute in Egypt. 20 There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses.