Bank of America is one of the Big Four of America’s banks (along with Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo). The nicknames “Bank of Amerika” (indicating a communist influence) and “Bank of Amerikkka” (from the KKK or Ku Klux Klan) were both used in 1970. The nicknames fell into disuse for decades, but have been repopularized on the Internet. Newsgroups: bit.listserv.gaynet
Bank of America has other unflattering nicknames, including “Bunch of Assholes” (cited in print since at least 2000), “Skank of America,” “Bank of Assholes” (both cited in print since at least 2003), “Stank of America” (cited in print since at least 2005), “Bank of Failmerica” (cited in print since 2009) and “Bankster of America” (cited in print since 2009). The South Africa-related nickname, “Bank of Apartheid,” has been used since at least 1978, but is dated today.
Wikipedia: Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC, TYO: 8648) is an American global financial services company, the largest bank holding company in the United States, by assets, and the second largest bank by market capitalization. Bank of America serves clients in more than 150 countries and has a relationship with 99% of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies and 83% of the Fortune Global 500. The company is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and a component of both the S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
As of 2010, Bank of America is the 5th largest company in the United States by total revenue, as well as the second largest non-oil company in the U.S. (after Wal-Mart). In 2010, Forbes listed Bank of America as the 3rd “best” large company in the world.
The bank’s 2008 acquisition of Merrill Lynch made Bank of America the world’s largest wealth manager and a major player in the investment banking industry.
The company holds 12.2% of all U.S. deposits, as of August 2009, and is one of the Big Four banks of the United States, along with Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo—its main competitors.
12 April 1970, Trenton (NJ) Evening Times, pg. B1, col. 3 photo caption:
AGAINST ESTABLISHMENT—Demonstrators protesting the appearance of California Gov. Ronald Reagan at Santa Barbara last month display a simulated “Bank of Amerika” check that features a burning Bank of America branch. The branch at Isla Vista, near Santa Barbara, was burned during student riots late in February. The check is signed by “The Conspiracy.”
26 October 1970, Greensboro (NC) Record, “‘Suspicious’ Blaze Ruins Another Bank,” pg. 4, cols. 2-3:
IRVINE, Calif. (AP)—Fire burned out the interior of the Bank of America at the University of California campus here today. Fireman (sic) said the blaze was “of highly suspicious origin.”
No one was reported hurt.
Messages sprayed in paint on one wall of the bank read: “Bank of Amerikkka” and “Death to the Pigs.”
Google Books
Posters of Protest:
The posters of political satire in the U.S. 1966-1970
By David Kunzle; University of California, Santa Barbara. Art Gallery.
Goleta, CA: Printed by Triple R Press
1971
Pg. 142:
BANK OF AMERIKA Photograph, printed in red and yellow, of the Isla Vista branch of the Bank of America in flames.
Google Books
Full-Tilt Boogie: Stories
By Robert H. Abel
Amherst, MA: Lynx House Press
1989
Pg. 192:
And when the Bank of AmeriKKKa was torched, we were angry enough to join in and staff the blockades and sling rocks and golf balls at the “pigs.”
From: John Drummond
New York City • Banking/Finance/Insurance • Saturday, April 23, 2011 • Permalink