SAN FRANCISCO -- In a crowded hearing room of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Craig Hudson, executive director of the California Independent Bankers, attacked a proposed ordinance to forbid ATM surcharging.
"Community bankers are good corporate citizens. They are naturally responsive to the needs of their customers. Permit us a free environment to respond to these consumer concerns over ATM surcharges," Hudson said. "Mandating a prohibition in the San Francisco Police Code against ATM surcharging is an anti-business and even reckless response to this issue. It is no real solution."
Numerous consumer group representatives, backed by organized labor, supported the ordinance at the hearing. They argued that the largest banks have a clear monopoly of ATMs in the San Francisco area; that 95 percent of all ATMs have a surcharge of $1.50 to $2.50 for non-bank customers; and that the no-surcharge ATM alliance had collapsed to the detriment of local consumers.
Hudson explained that community banks had spearheaded the creation of the ATM no-surcharge alliance two years ago. "This is the appropriate free market response to the issue. Many ATMs, especially those off-site, are just more costly to maintain and thus justify the surcharges," Hudson stated.
Paul Van Etten, chairman of Sequoia National Bank and Frank Bertaldo, president of Bay Area Bank, were among other CIB member bank presidents who testified against the proposed ordinance.
After the hearing CIB representatives lobbied other members of the San Francisco City and County Board of Supervisors. A vote on the issue is expected Wednesday, February 17.
The California Independent Bankers represents some 200 independent financial institutions throughout California and is politically active on behalf of its members in Sacramento and Washington DC.
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