A Rant

I work for a bank as a financial sales rep in a call center, and I speak to many people daily. Some people are a pleasure to speak with, and some are more of a challenge.
There are days I am humbled by the financial situations presented to me. For example, the customer who calls inquiring about a home equity loan, and, when I ask what their home is worth, they reply "Well, two years ago, it was $425,000; but now...I don't know, maybe $280?" Many of these people have been severely hurt by interest-only mortgages, or just the state of the economy in general. I have great sympathy for consumers who have been affected by the housing market, the stock market, the job market.
And THEN, there are the other people. Those who have seemingly been blind to what has been going on in the banking industry. One of my all-time favorites was a young man who called the other day stating that he wanted to open a checking account. I asked if he was looking for any particular type of account, like one he could use for direct deposit, one that offers rewards, etc. He replied that he just needed to open one so he could go into the bank tomorrow and get some cash. ??? Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I am pretty sure you open a checking account when you have some money to put IN to the bank and want to start managing it. I said to him "It sounds like maybe what you need is a credit card" to which he replied "Oh no, I have awful credit. I'll never get approved. I just need to open an account so I can go in to the bank tomorrow and get an advance." !!!!!!
Where do these people come from? Why on earth would a bank open an account for a brand new customer, with AWFUL credit no less, just to GIVE him money? I explained that in order to open a checking account, he would actually be required to fund it with a minimum of $50 to which he replied "I aint got $50! If I did, I wouldn't be calling you."
It is truly amazing to me that, in our current economic climate, we somehow have continued to instill that wonderful sense of entitlement in such deserving young people.
I was listening to NPR the other day, and they were speaking with a financial analyst about the current state of the market. APRs are very low right now (as are interest rates on deposit accounts unfortunately), and the Federal Reserve sees no increase in funds in the near future. The prime rate has been 3.25% for almost a year and should stay that way for a good while. Still, many consumers are getting raped by their credit card interest rates. Some truly just got a bad deal and should not be suffering at the hands of the credit lenders. Many, however, are reaping what they have sown. APRs commonly increase to a very high rate when a consumer has maxed out their credit, exceeded their limit or been seriously delinquent in their payments. These are perils about which the consumer is warned when they apply for credit. I know because we religiously read these disclosures over the phone as well as mail them to the customers. Yet many people overextend themselves anyway.
The simple revelation expressed by the analyst on NPR was this-"Interest is the cost for credit." What an obvious, yet overlooked, truth. It's what we pay for the privilege of having credit. But we, and I am speaking for myself and certainly not for everyone, have grown to expect that privilege, and we really don't care to pay for it. Case in point, my guy who wanted a checking account so the bank could give him money. As wacky as that sounds to me, that actually makes sense to somebody else!
So, to sum this all up, while I might not be the best salesperson or the smartest financial service provider, I certainly am learning a lot about the people in our nation and their expectations and the wide, wide array of morals and sensibilities they possess. My job is nothing if not enlightening.