Bank of America Corp (BAC): Does Obama Hate It?

In the final stretch of the 2012 election, President Obama was heckled by some of his opponents for taking out a $15 million loan from Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC).

What did the loan represent? Depending on who you ask and which side of the political aisle they sit on, there are plenty of answers. I’d argue that the reality was probably neutral: The campaign needed a short-term loan, and the money from B of A was there and at a reasonable price.

What the loan almost certainly didn’t represent was any sort of presidential soft spot for the “too big to fail” bank. Asked by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos back in 2011 about whether Bank of America’s highly controversial debit-card fee could be stopped, the president responded:

Well, you can stop it because if you say to the banks, “You don’t have some inherent right just to, you know, get a certain amount of profit if your customers are being mistreated. That you have to treat them fairly and transparently.”

Which is wrong for a variety reasons. But that’s a discussion for another time.

Looking back at it though, I got curious: What is Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) to the president? A useful lending institution, or a handy political punching bag?

Banking institutions in general weren’t the president’s biggest allies during the most recent campaign. None of his top contributors came from the world of finance. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney’s top five (hat tip to OpenSecrets.org) looked like this:

Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) : $1 million

Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC): $1 million

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) : $911,055

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) : $833,096

Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) : $674,076

President Obama did pocket some campaign cash from B of A, but that $257,397 was a fraction of what went to Romney.

And while the president tapped B of A for a campaign loan, his personal finances lie elsewhere. According to his 2011 financial disclosure (again, courtesy of OpenSecrets.org), he has multiple accounts — including a private client account — with JPMorgan. He has another checking account and a 30-year mortgage with Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS). And he has retirement and education savings in Vanguard, Calvert, and PIMCO.