I need to call TD BN to see about an interview there in Portland. What are my questions? I sent an email last night. I think I'll call now.

I previously wrote: QUESTIONS: WHERE IS THIS INVESTED? IS THIS TRANSPARENT? IS THERE SPECULATION? WHAT REGULATIONS? WHAT SAY TO THE IDEA THAT BANKS ARE FUNDAMENTALLY AT ODDS WITH DEMOCRACY? And can you defend banking --why is commercial banking good for a culture? Is it just good for stockholders and management and employees or is it good for economy and society as a whole?

I would insert their perspective into the early blurb.

Should I do an interview with someone at union bank in Boston? Is there a small bank CEO who would be willing to talk to me? Should I interview the man at the FC CDC? The impact of banks! Maybe Al's friend at Greenfield Savings or Greenfield Coop?

I'm calling now public affairs leslie roberts second transfer corp communications. I left a message! Very mature I think.

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I'd like to get more footage to capture as I start to play with my mosaic. I'd like to get footage of the vines on banks. The Amherst branch of TDBN. Can I find other banks with things growing? What about the streetcorners?

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I need to reply to the Toronto guy. Talking with B. made me realize I need to clarify my intentions for that interview with the majority owner of TD BN.

Freewrite on that:

Dear Neil P,

Thanks so much for your response.

I have contacted TD Banknorth in Portland, Maine, for an interview. I am waiting to hear back from them.

I also would like to interview someone at TD Bank Financial Group.

To help you direct me to the appropriate person, here are some of the questions I would like to ask:

I am trying to understand the relationship between TD Banknorth and TD Bank Financial Group. I'm not yet clear about what rights/privileges come with having majority ownership. How is a subsidary (like TD Banknorth) affected by its parent company?

Another way of asking this is: What does it mean to the average person with a bank account when their bank gets bought by a larger financial group? Is there any change in their bank's practices in terms of lending/ investment? Specifically, did TD Bank Financial Group's purchase of majority stocks affect the workings of TD Banknorth and if it is possible to explain how, this would be great.

The overall premise of this film is that I'm looking for a bank where I can open my account and using this as a point of entry for understanding how banks work and what the implications are of opening an account in one place over another. One of the issues that comes up is when one's bank is bought by a larger bank. What are the implications of this for the depositer?

Thanks,

At 02:07 PM 1/23/2007, you wrote:

Ms. W:
Thanks for your request for an interview.

It's important to point out that your request seems to blur the lines
between TD Banknorth and TD Bank Financial Group (TDBFG).

TD Banknorth is a majority owned subsidiary of TDBFG and operates approx.
600 branches in New England and the mid-Atlantic states. If your interest
lies there you should contact TD Banknorth directly. www.tdbanknorth.com

The Toronto-Dominion Bank and its subsidiaries are collectively known as TD
Bank Financial Group. TD Bank Financial Group serves more than 14 million
customers in four key businesses operating in a number of locations in key
financial centres around the globe: Canadian Personal and Commercial
Banking including TD Canada Trust; Wealth Management including TD
Waterhouse and an investment in TD Ameritrade; Wholesale Banking, including
TD Securities; and U.S. Personal and Commercial Banking through TD
Banknorth. TD Bank Financial Group also ranks among the world's leading
on-line financial services firms, with more than 4.5 million on-line
customers. TD Bank Financial Group had CDN$392.9 billion in assets, as of
October 31, 2006. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades on the Toronto and New
York Stock Exchanges under the symbol "TD".

To ensure I can put you in touch with the appropriate person I really do
need some more details.

Regards,

What am I really wanting to know? What are the implications when my bank gets bought? What changes? for the depositer? for the stock holders? For the amount of people hired/ fired? What are the implications? for the economy? Is money lent/ invested in different ways? Should I also ask an economist this? Maybe two with opposing views? Why does a big company want to buy a bank? Banks make a lot of money. What don't I get?

Anyway, I sent my email.

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I got the D and S Real World Banking book. So, some notes on that follow. Later, I am going to email D and S and see if it is possible to get a copy of the new version.
I'd love to post a link to this movie on their website.

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Idea: I'd like to show or say that it's scary to talk to a corporation like TD FG B of whatever, it feels masculine, scary to me. Mysterious, I feel intimidated. It feels so diferent to interact with a cdcu. That feeling matters. Can I articulate why? This is about having a relationship, bearing witness, wanting to connect to the fuel, the blood, the fluid that enables one's life. One's time. Making it visible. Talking to it. Having a relationship with it. Holding it.

Can affect be a part of how we think about the economy we want? That is a valid argument, too. How do I know what's a good economy? People who have academic positions say balance free trade with government protection. What is the econmoy I want? Do I have to know my vision of a good economy to decide my bank account? To decide all my ways of living and exchanging money?