Judith Mcquown encouraged all of us to “Inc. ourselves.” I’ll take it one step further: inc. yourself and become a bank. A swift change of classification to “bank holding company” can make a world of difference. Just ask AIG and Goldman Sachs. AIG and Goldman were the early players to swap classifications. AIG as a global insurance giant, involved in everything from workers comp to homeowners insurance. Goldman Sachs, long the gold standard in private investment firms, went public in 1999. Now they’re a bank, too.

American Express is the latest company to go bank and one providing the most puzzling irony. Yes, Amex the credit card company. I hope that looks strange to people. If you’re lucky you can rush down to your local Amex branch and open up a checking account. Well, if they ever pop up. Technically they could now. Maybe they’ll start sending us toasters for timely payment history.

So why go bank? I’m sure it has something to do with the propensity of the federal government to dole out taxpayer dough to these institutions. When credit card holders miss their payments, Amex sends the party a letter requesting they make good on their commitments. These consumers swimming in debt, albeit much of it self imposed, would love a government bailout (or bridge loan, the preferred name for the U.S. auto industry). They won’t be receiving one. Now, Amex just may. The credit card company has become the newest member of capitalist power players: the banks of course. When Amex card holders stop paying their consumer debt, consumer tax dollars may find their way into Amex coffers.

If I’m ever reincarnated, I can only hope for a bank holding classification.

Photo Credit: InfoMofo

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