Bank of America CEO Fires Back At Obama Administration: We Have a 'Right to Make a Profit

Bank of America has recently come under a lot of fire for introducing a $5 monthly debit fee.

Between President Obama claiming that banks don't have an "inherent right" to a "certain amount of profit" and Sen. Dick Durbin's call for BofA customers to switch banks, the criticism has been pretty thick.

And apparently, CEO Brian Moynihan decided he's had enough.

During a recent interview, the Bank of America CEO said that customers and shareholders need to understand the bank has a "right to make a profit."

"I have an inherent duty as a CEO of a publicly owned company to get a return for my shareholders," Moynihan said to CNBC's Larry Kudlow at the Washington Ideas Forum.

Moynihan said that the bank will talk to its customers and shareholders and "they'll understand what we're doing -- understand we have a right to make a profit."

Moynihan went on to emphasize the fact that the bank has been absolutely clear and transparent in introducing the fee and noted the bank has given customers more than enough advance notice (the fee doesn't begin until next year.)

He also claimed that the new charge was necessary because the "ability to be profitable" in retail banking has changed. He added that Wall Street reforms in the so-called Dodd-Frank Act will cost his bank "billions," according to the CNN report.

Of course, sentiments such as the ones spoken by Moynihan usually don't go over very well especially when not properly understood within the context that they were stated. Business Insider had the thankless task of measuring the common reaction to the CEO's pro-expansion message: