Campaign Contributions Made by Major Banks
All of the major financial institutions, including the well-known banks that issue most of the credit cards in the United States, donate heavily to political campaigns to try and gain influence with elected candidates to pass favorable legislation.
In the past, credit card companies have given most of their money to republican candidates, but in recent years, have began giving more to democratic candidates, perhaps in an attempt to stop the tide of legislation regulating them. Overall, credit card companies give more to republican candidates but give a respectable amount to democrats as well.
Below are political campaign statistics for some of the top credit card banks:
Citibank: Between 1998 and 2008, Citibank, one of the largest credit card issuers in the world, gave American political candidates $19,778,382. Citibank has more lobbyists than any other financial institution in the USA and has spent about $62 million on lobbyists over the last ten years.
Bank of America: Between 2000 and 2010, Bank of America made $11 million in political contributions to candidates and paid Washington lobbyists $24 million.
JP Morgan Chase: Between 1989 and 2010, JP Morgan Chase spent more than $20 million on political donations. They also spend anywhere between $4 and $6 million every year on lobbyists.
Capital One: Between 1997 and 2011, Capital One has given about $5.5 million to political campaigns and spent $12.4 million on lobbyists
American Express: Since 1989 American Express has made just over $9 million in political contributions and paid lobbyists $29 million during that same period.
(Sources for the statistics in the above article were gathered from SourchWatch.org; DailyFinance.com; InfluenceExplorer.com and PublicCampaign.org).
Credit Cards
Political Contributions Made by Credit Card Companies
