Bank on California is an initiative started by

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Governor

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...

on December 12, 2008, to help Californians open a bank account. The program seeks to encourage financial institutions to relax identification requirements when opening a bank account to include Mexican CID cards and Guatemalan CID cards as well as other CID cards. California mayors were enlisted to promote the program, which currently includes San Francisco, Los Angeles, Oakland, California Capital Region and Inland SoCal. The program was first announced by Governor Schwarzenegger and former President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

in ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' on January 24, 2008. California was lauded as the first state in the nation to start such an initiative and would be coordinated with the

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is a State-owned enterprises of the United States, United States government corporation supplying deposit insurance to depositors in American commercial banks and savings banks. The FDIC was cr ...

. It seeks to draw the "

unbanked The unbanked are adults who do not have their own bank accounts. Along with the underbanked, they may rely on alternative financial services for their financial needs, where these are available. Causes Some reasons a person might not have a ban ...

" into financial institutions with starter accounts whereby it's hoped that bringing more money into the financial system will grow the economy and help the unbanked build wealth.

Criticism

Clinton and Schwarzenegger claim that "it won't cost taxpayers a dime;" however, involving the FDIC and lobbying mayors to rally institutions in their communities translate to utilizing government resources, and someone had to coordinate to get th
Bank on California
website developed. Others argue it will help California banks to "launder the illicit earnings of millions of illegal aliens," and that "Californians don’t need help opening bank accounts, illegal aliens do."

References

External links

Bank on California
Consular identification cards Economy of California {{US-bank-stub