bank of america

not a fan!!! i've linked some reasons why––tho i still need to add their work in fossil fuels, private prisons, worker exploitation, & more...

a short note rant

bank of america is funding a genocide, profits from police brutality, & facilitated the sex trafficking of children. why are nonprofits willing to forgive them?

in 2023, i said: bank of america was a major contributor to the subprime mortgage crisis; they fucked people over during the pandemic, freezing accounts & misleading small businesses; & courts are hearing arguments about their racial discrimination in maintenance of foreclosed homes... they're also among the banks profiting most from packaging police-brutality settlement bonds––literally banking on cops killing people––& many think it's no coincidence that those cashing in on violence against POC are also the biggest donors to the performing arts. TL;DR: bank of america fucking sucks; they pour $$ into the arts in hopes that we will forgive them; it's our job to never forget.

in 2025, so much has changed: now bank of america also funds the genocide in Palestine *&* is under investigation for violating money laundering laws after failing to flag huge payments to jeffrey epstein.

whether you're devastated by mass death, furious that police-brutality settlement bonds are even a thing, or think banks should at least meet their legal duties on seeing multimillion-dollar payments to a convicted child rapist––my hope is that we can all find some reason nonprofits should stop presenting events with bank of america.

bank of america's catch phrase asks, “What would you like the power to do?” & power really is their only value––it's a fucking chilling slogan from a company that makes a killing on the rape, trafficking, & slaughter of kids.

i'm hoping we have the power to raise the bar from hell with the world's smallest ask: tell nonprofits to stop asking artists to stand below these fucking monsters' signs.

[1st ¶ july 2023
(with edits, & i cut the most aggressive bit!!),
remainder late-aug/sept 2025]

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BANK OF AMERICA... IN GENOCIDE:

• "Seven underwriters of “war bonds” instrumental in enabling Israel’s assault on Gaza"; press release shows Bank of America ($3.63B) is second only to Goldman Sachs ($7.23B) for underwriting Israeli war bonds (Pax for Peace, 2/14/25)
–––– for more info on Israeli war bonds, see "Israel’s Ever-Expanding War Machine Is Financed Through International Bond Sales" (Truthout, 7/26/25)

• "Bank Of America Corp reports 110.44% increase in ownership of Elbit Systems Ltd." ...from may to august 2025! (Fintel)

• "States and companies must end arms transfers to Israel immediately or risk responsibility for human rights violations: UN experts" (United Nations Human Rights: Office of the High Commissioner, 6/20/24)

• "Report: Armed Banking and its Joint Responsibility in the Gaza Genocide"; see pgs. 46, 50 where Bank of America makes the top 5 for institutions financing the genocide (Centre Delàs, October 2024)

• "Verizon. Pfizer. Bank of America. U.S. Corporations Are Funding Israeli Settlements." (In These Times, 2/21/19)

• "Elbit Systems raises $512m on Nasdaq for production expansion ... The offering was led by Bank of America Securities, J.P. Morgan, Jefferies, and Morgan Stanley" (Globes: Israel Business News, via archive.ph, 5/22/25)

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BANK OF AMERICA... IN POLICE BRUTALITY:

• "How Banks Artwash the Funds that Enable Police Brutality": "Few people knew that Bank of America ... was profiting from fees for packaging and issuing municipal bonds to investors to pay for cities’ police brutality settlements. ... The three Wall Street banks that package the most of these police-brutality settlement bonds — Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Goldman Sachs — are also some of the art world’s biggest corporate sponsors." (Hyperallergic, 7/15/20)

• "Atlanta’s Cop City Is Funded by Some of the Same Billionaires Who Back AIPAC": "These backers of Cop City include major corporations across multiple sectors headquartered in Atlanta, such as Georgia Power, Home Depot, Bank of America, Chick-fil-A, Coca-Cola and Cox Enterprises, a massive conglomerate that owns the city’s main newspaper. (Truthout, 7/31/24)

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BANK OF AMERICA... IN EPSTEIN:

• "Bank of America Flagged Suspicious Payments to Epstein Only After He Died": SARs are expected to be filed within 60 days of a bank spotting a questionable transaction. But the warnings in this case, according to the congressional memo, were not filed until several years after the payments, totaling $170 million, had been made. By the time of the first filing, Mr. Epstein had already been dead for six months ... The delayed filings have led congressional investigators to question if Bank of America violated federal laws against money laundering. Also of concern to investigators is that the bank apparently processed the payments “without asking for information as to the nature of the transactions,” the memo said. The bank told regulators in its initial filing that the wire transfers had “no apparent economic, business or lawful purpose,” according to the memo." (New York Times via archive.ph, 12/13/24)

• "In Epstein Case, Follow the Money, Democratic Senator Says" (New York Times via archive.ph, 7/17/25)

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calls to ditch bank of america:

• "Hundreds of Authors Ask Portland Book Festival to Divest From Banks [Bank of America and Wells Fargo] Tied to Israeli Weapons" (Willamette Week, 8/3/25)

• "Organizers Handing Out Flyers Thrown Out of Brooklyn Museum" ... "specifically singled out First Saturdays sponsor Bank of America for its funding of the “Cop City” police training center in Atlanta, Georgia." (Hyperallergic, 2/6/24)

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