# I pit the Bank of America **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 1, 2026, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-bank-of-america/1028098 "2026-03-01T03:09:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-bank-of-america/1028098/41 "2026-05-13T14:40:14Z")
I remember as a child/teen in Pakistan first hearing that Bank of America was only in California and Citibank was only in New York. Do even the person visiting us who lived in New Jersey and worked in NYC had two bank accounts. One in New Jersey and one in New York so she could visit branches near home and work. Bank of America and Citibank had branches in multiple cities and provinces in Pakistan at the time, and in other countries I had visited (UAE, Egypt, Sri Lanka) so this completely blew my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-bank-of-america/1028098/42 "2026-05-13T14:45:33Z")
@Max_S is right. You kind of set yourself up for this. > [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > If only I could get the social security to send my money to a local bank, but I have heard that they have been DOGEd into total dysfunction and I am afraid to ask them anything. Well, you’re going to have to tackle the system and use it to fix this mess. Sorry! ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-bank-of-america/1028098/43 "2026-05-13T14:57:03Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > When I was growing up, federal law did not allow a bank to cross state lines. That’s something that I noticed when I was a kid, and we would go to another state for vacations. I would see a lot of familiar signs for fast food places, hotel chains, gas stations, stuff like that. Same ones that we had back home. But the _banks_ would be different, with names that I had never heard of. I was a weird kid. That’s the kind of thing I found fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-bank-of-america/1028098/44 "2026-05-13T15:38:16Z")
I think most of us at the SDMB wouldn’t be here if we weren’t weird kids who were fascinated by stuff most people find boring, even annoying. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-bank-of-america/1028098/45 "2026-05-13T18:26:33Z")
I also ended up as a Bank of America customer due to acquisition. It’s still weird that I have to put in the state where I became a member, because it affects CD rates, fees, etc. It used to be that some BoA customers had e-banking and others did not, depending on which state they originally joined BoA. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-bank-of-america/1028098/46 "2026-05-13T18:41:11Z")
In (I think) 1982, I was with First Interstate, and driving from Idaho to San Francisco, I was dismayed to learn that, while I could make withdrawals, I could not make deposits outside of Idaho. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-bank-of-america/1028098/47 "2026-05-13T18:45:51Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > The tellers couldn’t access Bank of America accounts in a building with a Bank of America sign on it I has the same experience. My original account was with a Savings and Loan (remember those?), which was received by Sunwest Bank after the S&L debacle, then Nationsbank, then Bank of America. Heck, there may have been another bank in there somewhere, it’s been so long I don’t remember. Original account was opened in northern New Mexico when I was in high school. I never left the state but ended up in southern New Mexico. When I couldn’t transact on my account after Bank of America took over (and IIRC, the account still worked, but there were some types of transactions that the local branch couldn’t perform), they claimed it was because the original account was opened out of state. Obviously not true, but it didn’t matter. I can’t even recall how the matter was ultimately resolved, but I still have a checking account there. I find their online bill paying system works better than other banks I have tried. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-bank-of-america/1028098/48 "2026-05-14T18:47:08Z")
Bank of America and Security Pacific were the two big banks in SoCal when I was of an age to be aware of banks. It was really funny that I knew about equal numbers of people who only banked with BofA and hated SP or vice-versa. And each camp had similar horror stories to tell. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2026, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-bank-of-america/1028098/49 "2026-05-15T05:41:12Z")
Interstate banking in the US grew during the 1980s as states passed laws permitting out-of-state banks to open branches in their state. After some 35 states had done so, Congress passed the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994, which permitted banks to buy other banks across state lines. Then it was game on. [https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/interstate-banking.asp](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/interstate-banking.asp) I find financial institution quality to be hit and miss, so I like to have a backup bank. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-bank-of-america/1028098.md?page=2)