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Banks like to say they applaud worker initiative. Gail Lynn, a financial specialist in Wachovia's downtown St. Petersburg branch, found out otherwise recently after taking marketing matters into her own hands.
After Hurricane Charley struck, Lynn made up a batch of fliers touting Wachovia's home equity lines that come with no closing costs.
The one-pager warned that insurance may not cover all damages from a storm. If your home is severely damaged and you can't obtain a loan, "will you be able to wait two or three weeks to get the money for repairs, to buy a generator, to house your family in another location?" the flier asked.
Lynn said she circulated only about 10 of the fliers, but she deferred all other questions to Wachovia's corporate media relations.
Bank spokesman Kevin Bezner was quick to disassociate the Charlotte bank from "a person trying to do something on her own."
Yes, the bank has such a home equity line of credit; no, it isn't promoting it in quite that fashion.
"It's not the way Wachovia has chosen to do business," Bezner said. "We certainly are not putting out ads that are trying to work on people's fears."