Charlotte banking
on different candidates
Diversity of contributions mirrors voter uncertainty
RICK ROTHACKER
rrothacker@charlotteobserver.com
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Employees of Bank of America and Wachovia are known for sticking to their side of uptown Charlotte. In the upcoming presidential election, they're also backing different candidates.

Among Bank of America employees, Democrat Barack Obama is the favorite in 2008, according to an analysis of individual campaign contributions. At Charlotte rival Wachovia, Republican John McCain got the most checks.

The split among the banks contrasts with the industry's overwhelming support in 2004 for Republican George W. Bush. The data, compiled from candidate disclosures by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, shows how some in financial services are leaning amid turmoil in the mortgage business and calls for more regulation.

The diversity of contributions mirrors uncertainty among voters about which candidates will emerge as front-runners, said Ted Arrington, professor of political science at UNC Charlotte. The first primaries and caucuses take place next month.

"It also reflects the notion that big business gives to both parties because they want access to whoever wins," he said.

The two banks are dominant players in the Charlotte business scene, and their employees' contributions far outweighed the donations from workers at the seven other area Fortune 500 firms, the analysis found.

In the 2008 cycle, every industry is leaning more Democratic than it did in 2004, said Massie Ritsch, spokesman for the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based nonprofit that tracks money in politics. From banks and securities firms, Democrat Hillary Clinton has raised the most money ($5.7 million), followed by Obama ($5.4 million) and Republican Rudy Giuliani ($5.1 million), according to the center's data.

In 2004, Bush's nearly $12 million from financial services firms doubled the take of Democrat John Kerry.

"What's different is we have an open seat this time," Ritsch said. "Donors in the past may have been guessing that President Bush would be back in office."

Overall split by party

In its analysis, the Observer examined more than 500 individual contributions worth $645,630. The donations were disclosed by candidates in filings that counted through Sept. 30. The next round of campaign finance reports comes next month.The data included donations of at least $200 from givers nationwide who identified themselves as working for one of the banks; spouses are also included.

Bank of America employees overall gave more money to Democrats, while Wachovia workers lent more support to Republicans, the analysis showed. At both banks, Giuliani was No. 2 in donations and Clinton No. 3.

Former N.C. Sen. John Edwards was an also-ran at both institutions.

At Bank of America, the state of New York had the most givers, followed by Delaware and North Carolina. At Wachovia, N.C. residents led colleagues in New York and California.

The candidate who received the most money from both banks was Obama, with $120,180 -- about two-thirds from Bank of America employees. A trio of Obama supporters with ties to Bank of America helped arrange a fundraiser here in April, said Eric Montgomery, an attorney at the bank.

Montgomery, a Charlotte native who has been active in local politics, said he was already interested in the campaign when he got an e-mail from a fellow employee, Andrew Pittman. They teamed with Susan Higgins, who knew Obama from Harvard University, to help arrange the fundraiser at the Charlotte City Club. Higgins' husband, Chris, works at the bank.

Montgomery, 42, said his backing of Obama was a personal preference not tied to his job.

The Illinois senator "brings a fresh perspective about what he would do as president," Montgomery said. "He certainly represents a different part of America. He is more ingrained with the common man."

Not much from PACs

Individual contributions far outweighed donations by the banks' political action committees, or PACs. That's because there are more individual donors, and PACs typically wait until the field has narrowed. Some candidates also don't accept PAC money.

In this year's campaign, Bank of America's PAC gave $10,000 to Democrat Chris Dodd and $5,000 to Democrat Joe Biden, according to the data. Bank spokeswoman Shirley Norton said it's not unusual for the company's PAC to support sitting senators. Dodd, of Connecticut, chairs the Senate banking committee; Biden represents Delaware, where the bank's credit card unit is headquartered.

Wachovia's PAC made no contributions to presidential candidates, according to the data.

The biggest individual giver was Bruce Hammonds, president of Bank of America's credit card unit. He was previously chief executive of Delaware credit card giant MBNA, which Bank of America acquired last year. MBNA has long been known as a large giver to political campaigns.

Hammonds and his wife, Sandra, spread their contributions among Delaware's Biden ($9,200), Clinton ($9,200), Dodd ($2,300) and Giuliani ($2,300). Donors can give $2,300 for the primary and $2,300 for the general election to each candidate.

At Wachovia, the biggest contributor was Rob Verrone, a New York-based executive in the company's corporate and investment banking unit. He gave $4,600 to both Giuliani and Clinton.

Among chief executives, Bank of America's Ken Lewis, a Bush contributor in 2004, was not a donor, according to the data. His seven top executives made donations to Dodd.

Wachovia CEO Ken Thompson and his wife, Kathylee, gave $2,300 each to John McCain. The bank's chief risk officer, general counsel, government relations head and investment banking head also gave to McCain. Thompson, a top fundraiser for Bush last year, declined to comment.

Arrington, the UNCC professor, said chief executives can influence a company's political views, even if there is no overt direction to donate. He noted that Lewis' Bank of America predecessor, Hugh McColl Jr., was well known for his Democratic leanings.

"When the top dog is giving to a political candidate, that will sway a lot of people," Arrington said. "It's part of being on a team."

'08 presidential contributions

Individual contributions by bank employees, plus spouses:

BANK OF AMERICA

• Democrats: $253,980 (62 percent)• Republicans: $153,950 (38 percent)

WACHOVIA

• Republicans: $134,800 (57 percent)

• Democrats: $102,900 (43 percent)

SOURCE: Center for Responsive Politics

Banking on the next president

Here are the candidates receiving checks from employees at Charlotte's banks and spouses:


Bank of America Candidate Wachovia
$54,600 Joe Biden (D) $3,300
-- Sam Brownback (R) $1,200
$57,550 Hillary Clinton (D) $43,700
$50,000 Chris Dodd (D) $8,200
$4,800 John Edwards (D) $5,150
$67,200 Rudy Giuliani (R) $45,900
-- Mike Huckabee (R) $1,000
-- Dennis Kucinich (D) $250
$38,800 John McCain (R) $50,850
$79,280 Barack Obama (D) $40,900
-- Ron Paul (R) $3,900
$7,750 Bill Richardson (D) $1,400
$46,700 Mitt Romney (R) $30,700
$1,250 Fred Thompson (R) $1,250



SOURCE: Center for Responsive Politics, based on campaign finance reports submitted to Federal Election Commission.