About a month ago I wrote (a letter) detailing my experiences with my credit card company and bank in light of the TARP money the government had given to the banking industry. In short, I had over-drafted my bank account. I received some rather negative comments detailing how these individuals thought that the solution was simple, be more responsible.

These individuals have a point to a certain extent, but I also believe that an individual citizen deserves a break once in a while when they are generally responsible, and apparently so does my bank. As I noted in a conversation I recently had with Nancy Thomas, from First Niagara Bank, the object of my original letter was not to demonize an entire industry, simply to draw attention to the double standard applied to regular citizens at large in the context of the bank bailout.

So in the spirit of fairness, I would like to thank Nancy, and those at First Niagara Bank, for being a bright spot in the banking industry!

My correspondence with the bank since the time of my original letter has been positive, and I found Nancy to be fair and understanding. She refunded my over-draft charges and elucidated her position in what I thought was evenhanded, and very much in line with what I feel about business; that is that personal responsibility is certainly important, but sometimes responsible people make mistakes, and they should not be penalized for something that is not habitual.

When more businesses act in good conscience like this, I think we'll be able to dig ourselves out of this current mess we are in.

Shannon David

Auburn