The report begins: "As the social media-sparked Bank Transfer Day approaches, the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) reports that over 650,000 people have joined credit unions in the last four weeks."
Street art at Occupy Wall Street expresses a widely-held sentiment towards banks, 09/22/11. (photo: jamie nyc/flickr)
Bank Transfer: 650,000 Answer the Call
06 November 11
This report appears to focus on transfers that occurred in the run up to Bank Transfer Day. However, there is little doubt that the response has been significant. -- ma/RSN
s the social media-sparked Bank Transfer Day approaches, the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) reports that over 650,000 people have joined credit unions in the last four weeks.
In Minnesota alone, 10,200 joined credit unions between Sept. 29 and Nov. 1, CUNA tells the Minnesota Independent. Credit unions have added $4.5 billion in new accounts since the end of September, CUNA says, reporting that four out of every five credit unions affiliated with the group report that the increase is due to attempts by big banks to raise fees on customers or Bank Transfer Day, a movement birthed by social media that will take place tomorrow.
Bank Transfer Day organizer Kristen Christian explained the logic behind the movement on the group's Facebook page.
"I started this because I felt like many of you do. I was tired - tired of the fee increases, tired of not being able to access my money when I need to, tired of them using what little money I have to oppress my brothers & sisters. So I stood up. I've been shocked at how many people have stood up alongside me." Christian wrote. "Me closing my account all on my lonesome wouldn't have made a difference to these fat cats. But each of you standing up with me ... they can't drown out the noise we'll make."
Big banks like Wells Fargo and US Bank have also taken flak for attempting to impose additions fees on customers who use debt cards, although many of the banks have withdrawn their plans due to public outcry.
Credit unions are member-owned and non-profit; they typically have fewer fees than corporate banks. Credit unions across the country, including some in Minnesota, have been offering special promotions and extending hours in preparation for Bank Transfer Day, CUNA said. Minnesota's Affinity Plus launched the aggressive "ditch your bank" campaign in early October,
"Our struggling economy is not the disease, it's the symptom," according to Affinity Plus' campaign. "There is mounting evidence to prove that big banks with their profit-at-all-costs agenda are actually making our collective disease worse by systematically making choices that undermine the efforts of regulators and ordinary people like us to make changes and get back to a state of health."
Occupy Wall Street has also helped cement the focus on banks. In Minnesota, Occupy Wall Street has targeted big banks for a series of demonstrations focused largely on the banks' role in the foreclosure crisis
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that easy!)
OCCUPY!
I think Wells has announced the same practice.
The problem is that "These big corporations" have had 10+ years to prove that their lower taxes (Bush Tax Breaks and loop holes) are necessary to create jobs -- FACT: We've lost jobs so the only solution is to MAKE THEM PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE OF TAXES.
The GOP Mantra that (ala Norquist) that tax reduction is needed to create jobs - is B.S. IF you are a GOP and believe the GOP/TP -- think of the reality. And their "fixing abortion laws" -- is NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS. We have laws (Hide Bill) that no TAX $$ will pay for an abortion - so prohibiting abortions is not the business of any government (Local, State, Fed)
VOTE DEM - get absentee ballots and help those who have to get an ID -- in Texas, they just have to buy a gun!
With money in a credit union I am hoping that the nice working folks at the branches will be able to find jobs at the credit unions.
NEVER VOTE REPUBLICAN !!
I think if enough individuals stop patronizing these banks, our protest will be heard and they will finally get the message!!
NEVER EVER VOTE REPUBLICAN!!!
The point is that when a certain service or product becomes unhealthy or even evil, it must be eliminated or replaced by something better.
We could use this against them and complain that ending abortion would cause all of the abortion providers to be layed off as well.
It's a goofy argument being made by people who've run out of anything honest to add to the debate.
NEVER BUY OR USE US-BLENDED TOBACCO PRODUCTS!
The banks HEAR your message, but they ignore it, because giving any credence to that message implies they have been engaged in wrongdoing ... and these megacorporation s NEVER do anything wrong.
It should be an interesting month.
This movement is hopefully to stop our out spending our budget, like we tell everyone else
650,000 - This should hit them where they live. If you figure an average of $300 in an account that's $195,000,000 that just left the building.
There is a Petition site that many organizers use. try that also
I had been having separate problems with Wells Fargo the whole time. That's when I closed that account and moved to a credit union. I still have one credit card I haven't done that with.
http://www.cuna.org/newsnow/11/wash110811-2.html
So the 40K new members on Bank Transfer Day was more than 20 times last year's norm.
http://www.cuna.org/download/longrun/us_totals.pdf
It shows that since end of 2007, credit unions have averaged 137K new members per month, and $4.557 Billion in new deposits per month, so last month we saw a lot of small accounts transferred. The # of new members was 5 times the norm, but the amount of new deposits was the same as usual.
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