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Anti-big bank movement is gaining steam

You’ve seen it in the news and you’ve experienced it firsthand. Banks ran home crying to mama (the government) for bailout money to keep the doors open, and got billion from taxpayers, and what have they done with it since? High salaries and executive bonuses are still common in America’s big banks, and the American people are fed up. They use payday loans when they need quick cash, but what about long-term solutions? The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) and well-informed panel members like Heather Murren are on the right track, pursuing bank CEO with probing questions about regulatory matters. But what can average consumers like yourself do with your money if you no longer want to support big banks and their greed and treachery? You CAN Move Your Money if you wish!

Community banks and credit unions build communities

Move Your Money is a grassroots effort that is designed to shift power “away from Wall Street and to Main Street,” according to MoveYourMoney.info. Phil Britt, in a recent article, observes that the movement is supported by the Huffington Post, which makes for great PR. Move Your Money aims to say NO to Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Citibank, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and JP Morgan Chase. They all “took billions in taxpayer money and have cut lending to businesses by $ 100 billion." The founder of the Huffington Post, Ariana Huffington (obviously) deems it “populism at its best… a withdrawal tax on the big banks for the negative service they provide by consistently ignoring the public interest.” If the American people do not take a stand, big banks will continue to control your money (and likely mismanage it).

Community banks support them

Berdell Knowles of the Community Development Bankers Association defines the culture gap between average citizens and big bankers. He blogs that “The bank executives who make the decisions on how to use the earnings from your money, whether it be to pay management bonuses or to invest in sub-prime mortgages, will probably know little about you or your community.” The natural alternative is community banks that use their economic power to directly help local economies (rather than funneling it into the gigantic overhead big banks bring to the table).

Not only that, Knowles also acknowledges that community banks might have better insights into the credit worthiness of a customer they are familiar with. It’s a personal touch that big banks can’t possibly duplicate. Another thing community banks have over the big ones is that certain funding, for community economic investment, is allocated by state and federal governments to community banks. An example Britt gives is the three percent TARP funds for Small Business Lending. There were $ 1 billion in assets there, and it was specifically for community banks.

Are people listening to Move Your Money? Yes they are

Credit Union National Association CEO Dan Mica has blogged that “consumers are already voting with their wallets in favor of credit unions." The growth of credit union membership grew by 2 percent in 2009, the best numbers credit unions have seen 2001, so this isn't a lark. Rep. Barney Frank had it right when he observed that the crash in the financial system wouldn't have happened if the large banking institutions had behaved a bit more like credit unions or community banks. People see what needs to be done, and Move Your Money is a way to mobilize them. When ordinary people need money, they have options like payday loans, but over the long term, credit unions and community banks are far more worthwhile to support than a huge multinational headquartered thousands of miles away.

Tags: big banks, community banks, credit unions, Move Your Money, too big to fail