As part of the Occupy movement more and more campaigners are moving their money out of the “too big to fail” banks into democratically run credit unions by November 5, Guy Fawkes Day. Credit unions are reporting record numbers of deposits and the big banks have already begun crying foul.
Consumer fury against big banks is jingling the till at credit unions.
The small not-for-profits, generally viewed as a low-key corner of the financial services business, have been picking up customers who say they’re fed up with bank fees and account requirements.
TopLine Federal Credit Union in Maple Grove said it saw a nearly 20 percent increase in new checking accounts in the first three weeks in October. Others say new checking accounts have doubled.
The surge is unprecedented, according to TopLine CEO Harry Carter. He said about a third of the new customers “are volunteering that they’re doing it because of the fees charged by larger banks.”
The credit unions are capitalizing on what has been a slow-burning anger over the government’s 2008 bailout of big banks and what some see as the banks’ refusal since then to offer help to cash-strapped customers or loans to anyone without sterling credit.
It’s unclear whether the backlash will grow big enough to become something more than an annoyance to the industry’s largest institutions, who are now flush with cash. Some analysts think the customers most likely to desert big banks are the least affluent — and often the least profitable.
But credit union executives say there’s no question that they are gaining customers. They’re preparing for another wave with the approach of “Bank Transfer Day” — a grassroots call circulating across the country to boycott banks and shift accounts to credit unions next Saturday.
To find a local bank or credit union MoveYourMoney.info for a list of sound institutions in your area.
