I’d have to say the fear of having one’s job outsourced overseas is certainly a valid one. And, if you’ve ever wondered what your developing world counterpoint might be making if it were ever to happen, I might be able to shed some light for you.

Call centers and manufacturing are not the only things that have been shipped to other countries to cut costs. Heck it was not long ago that some news organizations shipped some U.S. business coverage out of the country.

A glimpse into why a company might consider outsourcing came in the form of an unsolicited email pitch I got last week from a company based in Cebu in the Philippines. I’m not quite sure why the company, eBusiness BPO Inc., thought I’d be a real hot lead for their offerings but nonetheless it did provide an interesting glimpse into how the other half lives.

From the email:

We can supply your company with a full time employee with a college degree starting from $6.00 an hour for outbound campaigns/inbound campaings [sic] (non toll-free) or $8.50 an hour for inbound campaigns (toll-free), all inclusive and tax free. This includes the agent, a computer, a headset, VOIP, fiber optic line and predictive dialer. We also have CPA’s on staff for $8.00 an hour, Virtual Assistants doing data entry for $5.25 an hour, Exec. Assistant for $6.00 an hour, and Bookeeping [sic] for $6.25 an hour.

As if the prospect of being able to boss around CPAs and college-educated folk for, what is in some cases less than minimum wage ($7.85) weren’t enough, eBusiness BPO throws in another tantalizing lure:

The benefits of outsourcing your employee frees you from liabilities such as unemployment insurance, workman’s compensation, Employee health insurance, employer taxes, 401k, HR costs, etc.

And, in case you might be worried about how your company would be represented:

Our agents are capable professionals and have excellent English accent. With our system, you can listen to your employees while they handle your customer support or telemarketing.

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OK, maybe it was actually MY error for not catching it when Bank of America started charging me — incorrectly it turns out — maintenance fees for my checking and savings accounts.

Actually, I did notice the savings account maintenance charge, and that’s what led me to question the teller when I made a deposit.  I thought that a $10 per month maintenance charge for that account — on top of a $20 per month charge for a checking account — was a bit much. Especially since I have an open home equity line at Bank of America.

The personal banker I eventually talked to did a lot of squinting at his computer, and after about five minutes he told me that I shouldn’t be paying ANY maintenance charges.

“What are the odds of me getting it all back,” I asked him.

“Pretty good,” he answered.

So yesterday, I got a total of $307 returned to my checking and savings accounts. Talk about found money. I felt like I had just picked the right “Community Chest” card.

Can anybody top that?

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Two big personalities on Maryland’s business landscape — William Donald Schaefer and Edwin F. Hale Sr. — dominated the news this week, and that’s reflected in the top 5 staff-written stories by The Daily Record’s business reporting team.

1. William Donald Schaefer: 1921 – 2011 – by Melody Simmons and C. Fraser Smith
William Donald Schaefer, the mercurial, demanding leader who reshaped Baltimore in four terms as mayor before serving two terms each as governor and comptroller of Maryland, died Monday at the age of 89.

2. First Mariner Chairman Hale to step down – by Rachel Bernstein
1st Mariner Bank founder Edwin F. Hale Sr., will step down as chairman and CEO as part of a New York investment company’s plan to take a stake in the struggling Baltimore banking company.

3. After 61 years, iconic Werner’s restaurant closes its doors – by Rachel Bernstein
The future tenant of the old Werner’s spot will need to appeal to downtown Baltimore’s business district without becoming another upscale restaurant out of reach for the luncheonette’s former regulars.

4. First Mariner founder Edwin Hale ready to look for new challenges – by Rachel Bernstein
First Mariner Bancorp CEO Edwin F. Hale Sr. isn’t happy that he will be leaving the company he founded, but he said Wednesday he plans to keep his hand in development and Baltimore’s business community.

5. Local group acquiring Pikesville retirement community – by Rachel Bernstein
A local group of physicians, clergy and investors is buying a continuing care retirement community to bring what it says will be a more personal and local touch than that of its out-of-state owners.

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The most-read stories of 2010 by The Daily Record’s business reporting team mirror many of the big ongoing stories that have dominated the news since the economy cratered two years ago — failed banks, slot machine gambling, struggling commercial real estate developments, and City Hall politics.

1. Two Maryland banks closed by regulators – Ben Mook

Federal regulators closed two troubled Maryland banks, including one that was believed to have been the oldest black-owned financial institution in the state. Bay National Bank and Baltimore-based Ideal Federal Savings Bank Friday became the fourth and fifth Maryland banks to be closed over the last two years.

2. Baltimore’s FiOS chances getting slimmer – Staff and Wire reports

Verizon is nearing the end of its program to replace copper phone lines with optical fibers that provide much higher Internet speeds and TV service. Its focus is now on completing the network in the communities where it has already secured “franchises” — and that means major cities such as Baltimore and downtown Boston will be left without FiOS.

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The Washington Post has published three interesting business stories this week that promise to reverberate into the new year.

One is on bank failures: 2010 saw the most U.S. banks go under since 1992, and analysts see more “on the horizon” in 2011.

“The FDIC’s list of ‘problem’ banks – those whose weaknesses ‘threaten their continued financial viability’ – stood at 860 as of Sept. 30, the highest since 1993. Historically, about a fifth of banks on the watch list end up failing.”

K Bank and Bay National Bank were among the local banks seized by the feds this year. In a bit of good news, FDIC officials and banking industry analysts think 2010 will be the “high-water mark” for failures.

Another story (via Bloomberg) is on Wall Street and its largely successful efforts to parry regulatory reform of the way it does business, even with the lingering effects of the financial meltdown still causing an economic hangover.

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The Dept. of Treasury’s Office of the Inspector General investigated the failure of Bay National Bank in July and found nothing special in the bank’s downward spiral.

“The primary causes of Bay’s failure were its aggressive growth strategy, excessive concentrations in higher-risk construction and development loans, and insufficient capital relative to the risk level of its loans. These conditions were exacerbated by the downturn in residential real estate values in Maryland, Bay’s market. In addition, risk management activities at Bay were inadequate. For example, liberal underwriting standards allowed originations of loans without proper analysis of the borrowers’ stated income or their ability to sustain a project should it be delayed. Bay’s asset quality began deteriorating in late 2007, resulting in significant increases in its problem assets and loan losses. In turn, these loan losses significantly diminished earnings and capital and, ultimately, led to Bay’s failure.”

The audit, undertaken in August and September, determined there were “no unusual circumstances” surrounding the bank failure. Therefore, auditors recommended that no further review of the bank’s failure be undertaken.

The cost to the FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Fund for the Bay National closure was $17.4 million. The FDIC closed the bank on July 9 and Bay National’s deposits were assumed by the newly formed Bay Bank FSB.

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Ben Mook wrote in Wednesday’s paper about M&T Bank’s growth spurt in the region — an expansion that includes three instances where the Buffalo, N.Y.-based bank took over small banks at the behest of federal regulators.

The latest acquisition occurred Nov. 5, when the Maryland Office of Financial Regulation closed Owings Mills-based K Bank and appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as the receiver. The FDIC in turn cut a deal with M&T to assume all of K Bank’s deposits and $410.8 million of the bank’s $538.3 million in assets.

Atwood “Woody” Collins III, president and COO of M&T Bank’s Mid-Atlantic division, described the deals with a ho-hum, just-business demeanor completely at odds with the unpopular image these days of the rapacious titan of high finance — smart move by Collins.

The latest takeover also got me thinking about the mechanics of the thing.

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With apologies to Jerry Maguire, the feel-good banking mantra of the day might be described as help us help you.

Or, to borrow another cliche, no pain no gain.

Bank of America offered fresh evidence Tuesday of how shifting its consumer banking strategy away from penalties and fees would hit its bottom line. The new strategy will be “less about selling products and more about deepening relationships with clients,” CEO Brian E. Moynihan told CNBC in an interview pegged to the bank’s third-quarter earnings report.

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