Bank on California is an initiative started by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on December 12, 2008, to help Californians open a bank account. [1] 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. [2] California mayors were enlisted to promote the program, which currently includes San Francisco, Los Angeles, Oakland, California Capital Region and Inland SoCal. [3]
The program was first announced by Governor Schwarzenegger and former President Bill Clinton in The Wall Street Journal 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. It seeks to draw the "unbanked" 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. [4] [5]
Clinton and Schwarzenegger claim that "it won't cost taxpayers a dime;" [4] 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 the Bank on California Archived 2009-02-21 at the Wayback Machine 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." [6]
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, filmmaker, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder best known for his roles in high-profile action movies. He served as the 38th governor of California from 2003 to 2011 and was among Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world in 2004 and 2007.
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The Matrícula Consular de Alta Seguridad, also known as the Mexican Consular Identification Card, is an identification card issued by the Government of Mexico through its consulate offices to Mexican nationals residing outside of Mexico. Also known as the Mexican CID card, it has been issued since 1871. The issue of the card has no bearing on immigration status in the foreign country they are residing in. The purpose of the card is to demonstrate that the bearer is a Mexican national living outside of Mexico. It includes a Government of Mexico issued ID number and bears a photograph and address outside of Mexico of the Mexican national to whom it is issued.
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The Tarjeta de Identificación Consular Guatemalteca is an identification card issued by the Government of Guatemala through its consulate offices to Guatemalan nationals residing outside of Guatemala. Also known as the Guatemalan CID card, Guatemala began issuing this consular identification card in the United States in August 2002 following the lead of the Mexican government's foreign consular agents in the United States who began lobbying states, municipalities and financial institutions in the United States to accept the Mexican CID card in March 2002.
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