Charlotte's Web: Democrats Choice of Convention Site May Prove Awkward in 2012

WASHINGTON — Assuming all goes as scheduled, President Obama will accept his party's nomination for president next September in Charlotte, N.C., perhaps in the 73,000-seat Bank of America Stadium. Which may prove to be more than a little awkward.

Charlotte is, of course, a banking city. It is also B of A's hometown. And last week the president touched a nerve with bankers when he suggested that the government might be able to stop banks from charging certain fees, such as the $5 per month that B of A plans to start charging debit-card users.

Though Obama later backed away from that controversial assertion, officials at large banks — already worried about the impact that financial regulatory reform will have on their profitability — were livid.

"We never, ever, ever can think of a single example of a president calling out a single company like this," one industry source said. "It's ridiculous."

A second industry source argued that the administration's recent rhetoric makes clear that Obama plans to campaign for reelection against the big banks.

"It does seem like they've made a concerted decision to tack left in general, and I assume that's part of this," the source said.

B of A has not responded publicly to Obama's comments. But Rep. Melvin Watt, D-N.C., whose district includes part of Charlotte, said in an interview that he has not gotten any calls from Bank of America asking him to scold or second-guess the president.

"I'm sure that Bank of America's been involved with and around politics for a long time. And they understand that people express themselves and move on to the next thing," Watt said.

The 2012 Democratic National Convention will be held in Charlotte during the first week of September. Obama won North Carolina in 2008 — the first time since Jimmy Carter in 1976 that a Democratic presidential candidate has carried the state. A repeat win in the Tar Heel State would provide a major boost to Obama's re-election chances.

But the optics of the convention present a challenge for Democrats. In recent weeks, Obama has become much more critical of the financial industry.

"The American people understand that not everybody's been following the rules, that Wall Street is an example of that," the president said during a press conference last week.

B of A is the largest U.S. bank by asset size. It is also one of the five largest employers in the Charlotte area, with between 10,000 and 16,000 employees there as of late 2010, according to the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. Wells Fargo, which bought Wachovia in 2008, is an even larger employer in the Charlotte area.

B of A's local employment numbers are likely to shrink between now and the convention, since the beleaguered bank announced plans last month to cut its global workforce by about 10%.

Still, B of A is a major part of the civic fabric of Charlotte.

Hugh McColl, the former B of A chief executive, is serving as honorary co-chair of the steering committee for the local group that is hosting the Democrats in 2012. The NFL's Carolina Panthers play in Bank of America Stadium, which would be the venue for Obama's acceptance speech if he wants to speak to the largest possible audience, as he did in Denver in 2008.

In addition, B of A controls a lot of office space and parking spots in Charlotte, and the bank has been receiving requests for uses of that space from a variety of groups that will be in town for the convention.

Like the other large U.S. banks, B of A officials have shifted their campaign contributions away from Obama in the 2012 election cycle. In the last presidential election, B of A officials gave about $2.35 to Obama for every $1 they gave to Republican John McCain.

So far in the 2012 race, B of A officials have given Republican Mitt Romney $2.58 for every $1 they give to Obama, according to the latest data from the Center for Responsive Politics.

Obama's attacks occurred even though B of A has supported some of his administration's priorities. In April 2010, B of A broke with the other large U.S. banks by publicly supporting the idea of an independent consumer protection agency. The following month, CEO Brian Moynihan scored an invitation to a state dinner at the White House.

If B of A feels that it has been unfairly singled out for criticism regarding its recently announced fee for debit-card users, it has a point. Citigroup and SunTrust are also raising their fees, but they have not faced the same type of backlash. Nor have they been singled out by the president.

In fairness to Obama, it was the interviewer, George Stephanopoulos of ABC News, who specifically mentioned B of A's fee. The president responded that "this is exactly why we need somebody" — namely the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — "whose sole job it is to prevent this kind of stuff from happening."

That rhetoric alarmed bankers, since it suggested that the government should determine how much banks can charge their customers. Later in the week, in response to a question about whether the U.S. government has the right to dictate how much profit companies make, Obama said, "I absolutely do not think that."

In Charlotte, organizers of the convention believe that last week's controversy will blow over quickly.

"The convention is 12 months away," former Charlotte mayor Harvey Gantt, a Democrat who is chairman of the steering committee for the local host group, said in an interview. "I don't think it's going to have any impact on the convention at all."

But in light of the president's recent comments, some bankers are not so sanguine about the decision to hold the Democratic convention in Charlotte.

"It would be like basing your campaign on attacking the auto industry, and then having your convention in Detroit," the second industry source said.