Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times covers a story that reflects poorly not only on the bank named but also on the banking industry. The story focuses on the application of policies, often installed for good reasons, but with no flexibility for treating a client as a person. Whilst one can be outraged by the results of the personnel policies highlighted in this story that led to the dismissal of a call center employee and her supervisor, there is also the underlying reason for the client problem. In the very first paragraph it notes that the client “had deposited a $1,080 paycheck into his account at U.S. Bank. The bank put a hold on most of the sum.” At a time of increasing technology, is it still necessary to hold funds for long periods of time and prevent clients from accessing their money? Or is this just a way for the bank to profit from a client’s money?
