The Gary Null Blog

By Travis Waldron, ThinkProgress

Posted on November 18, 2011, Printed on November 19, 2011
http://www.alternet.org/story/153129/former_jpmorgan_banker%3A_exploiting_consumers_is_%E2%80%98the_purpose_of_the_banking_organization%E2%80%99

 Wall Street banks, largely spared from the economic ruin felt by millions of Americans since the financial crisis of 2008, have returned to profitability, generating higher profits in the two-and-a-half years since the crisis than they did in nearly eight years preceding it. But that hasn’t stopped them from seeking new ways to generate revenue — like Bank of America’s proposed $5-a-month debit card fee or the millions banks have made from charging consumers to receive unemployment benefits or food stamps.

If all this makes Americans feel like Wall Street banks only view them as money-making tools, well, that’s because the banks apparently do. According to David Mooney, a former JPMorgan Chase employee, Wall Street banks see consumers as an “income stream” to exploit for profit-making purposes, Reuters reports: