Bank of America owes North Carolinians an apology

(cross-posted at dKos)

Let's give credit where credit is due -- Bank of America, and its previous incarnations as NCNB and NationsBank, played a major role in North Carolina's massive economic growth of the past 30 years. Admittedly, it was almost out of necessity--back in the 1970s and 1980s, a lot of banks down here were deathly afraid of being swallowed up by the big New York banks. The solution? Make yourself too rich to eat.

Today, we learn that Bank of America has slapped our state in the face. The AP reports (hat tip to pkbarbiegirl at dKos) that the 12 banks receiving the most from the federal bailout sought permission to bring thousands of foreign workers here for high-paying jobs. According to this NYT chart, Bank of America received $45 billion from the bailout -- more than any bank except Citigroup.

Unless I'm very wrong here, this can only mean one thing -- Bank of America has slapped its home state in the face, and owes it an apology.

In a time when many people here are struggling for jobs, this is how they repay us. By taking jobs that could have gone to the large talent pool in this state (especially in Charlotte, the Triangle and the Triad) and giving them to foreign workers.

This seems particularly outrageous given these statements in BofA's own code of ethics commits it to the "highest standards of ethical conduct" and that BofA is judged "by the actions of its associates."

There's only one way out for BofA ... CEO Ken Lewis owes us an apology. Otherwise, to my mind the ouster of John Thain is going to look awfully hollow.

Update: A commenter at dKos found this outrageous nugget in the AP story:

The dozen banks receiving the biggest rescue packages, totaling more than $150 billion, requested visas for more than 21,800 foreign workers over the past six years for positions that included senior vice presidents, corporate lawyers, junior investment analysts and human resources specialists. The average annual salary for those jobs was $90,721, nearly twice the median income for all American households.

The figures are significant because they show that the bailed-out banks, being kept afloat with U.S. taxpayer money, actively sought to hire foreign workers instead of American workers. As the economic collapse worsened last year — with huge numbers of bank employees laid off — the numbers of visas sought by the dozen banks in AP's analysis increased by nearly one-third, from 3,258 in fiscal 2007 to 4,163 in fiscal 2008.

This from a bank based in the same state that's home to Carolina, Duke and Wake Forest. The mind reels.