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Jan 16, 2009 -- Schools continue taking kickbacks from banks

Following up on a long-running story, The New York Times recently reported some of the giant monster mega banks have been paying massive kickbacks to universities and alumni groups for the right to push debt to students.

The banks are buying lists of home addresses, phone numbers and other personal info so they can offer credit cards directly to young people. College students are the most profitable targets, and they have deep-pocketed parents who will step in and pick up the tab if necessary.

The banks are acting like bank robbers minus the gun, according to Clark. Nobody is worse than Bank of America, which has contracts with 700 schools and alumni groups. The New York Times says BoA paid $8.4 million in kickbacks to Michigan State for names, addresses and the right to use the university's logo in marketing materials.

The more students who get into debt, the larger the kickbacks become. This kind of behavior should be criminalized, Clark says. And shame on the schools for selling their own students down the river.

Students themselves are beginning to revolt. At Arizona State University, students set up booths on campus to warn incoming freshman away from this potential danger. Likewise, the student newspaper at Michigan State has run several editorials to raise awareness.

As always, a BoA rep is welcome to come on the show and explain why what they're doing isn't wrong. An explanation from state-supported universities that take the kickbacks would also be nice.

If you're the parent of a college-bound teen, you must educate your child about this issue. As an early alternative, try getting your high school junior a credit card with a low limit so you can monitor use and teach responsibility while they still live under your roof.

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What others are saying

  • this is not a new problem
    This happend to me back in 1989 at Rutgers. I got every credit card known to man and maxed them,Citibank stands out the most in my mind. It took me years to pay it off, well into my 30's. This is not a new scam, but it needs to stop.
  • Parents' Fault Too
    The parents are sometimes just as bad as the students! Parents living off debt are setting a bad example for their kids. Kids see their parents living off magic money and feel they can do the same thing. The debt problem in the US is systemic and banks are also to blame for making it so easy to borrow and so hard to repay. Colleges should be held accountable by making sure their students get free access to money management classes/lectures/seminars.
  • Schools should be ashamed
    I am so glad that fast food restaurants didn't have the ability to take credit cards when I went to college or I'd have thousands of dollars in debt for hamburgers! The schools participating in this should be ashamed; college students may not realize just how much this debt will cost them.
  • banks
    banks and the people who create their policies are dispicable
  • Down the Tubes
    This is just one more reason that we should let all of these banks go down the tubes. Let them all go out of business.
  • credit cards for students
    better idea for parents. open bank account for junior and give them a debit caed letting them know only a certain amount of money will be in the account each month and when it is gone they must wait until the next month for more. aby penalties will come from the next months bank balance
  • College age kids
    It's ashame these colleges are selling the names and numbers to BOA, but these college age kids need to know something about credit, if not they need to go back to High School and start over. If they borrowed, it has to be paid back, when will they ever learn. What kind of young people are we putting out there. No one is putting a gun to their head to take and use credit cards. They will learn the way of the world soon enough.
  • And us taxpayers bail them out
    How do we reward BofA for this immoral behavior? Us taxpayers bail them out: $45 billion so far!!!
  • BOA kickbacks and colleges
    Where can we get a list of the colleges doing the kickbacks? I would like to know if my alma mater is doing this.
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