Today BB&T, a bank based in Winston-Salem, said it will not loan money to developers for projects on land obtained via eminent domain. (Article here.)
The bank’s representative said himself that taking this stand will show a minimal impact on the bank’s bottom line, but hey, this is still news. A major financial institution has gone on record to say that they disagree with something that private enterprise is doing. Most financial institutions are loathe to say anything negative about customers or potential customers.
I really don’t care what their motivation was, it was the right thing to do. And yes, it’s good PR.
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Befuddled 
Incredible. I love these guys for doing this. They are my favorite bank for making a stand on this issue.
I was talking to a lawyer the other day who specializes in eminent domain. I asked her if she and her peers were surprised by the Kelo decision. She said they weren’t surprised by the decision, but that it was 5-4 instead of 6-3. There’s hope, although Alito and Roberts don’t replace one of the 5.
Additionally, this has kickstarted movements in Congress and in the states to do something since the courts won’t. Although I always thought the Constitution was pretty clear about it. If you can find a right to abortion in there, it ought not be a problem to find that you have a right to your property.
Hi David,
Thanks for the comment. When I first started writing the post I was going to make a reference to the fact that it was ironic that a bank was standing up against eminent domain and our supposed conservative government wasn’t, but then I read some more about it and saw that 30-something states and congress already have something in the works. Let’s just hope they don’t lose momentum.