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We’re starting to get hard numbers from Bank Transfer Day. The Credit Union National Association, the leading trade group for credit unions, reports 40,000 new accounts on November 5. This is 24 times the normal rate of membership increases for the industry in 2010, and two times the rate of membership since September 29. That’s when credit unions began seeing a surge in the wake of the abandoned $5 debit card fee from Bank of America. In all, the new accounts totaled $80 million in funds. $90 million in loans were taken out at credit unions on Saturday as well. And that only counts credit unions and not community banks.
A side note of this is that Wal-Mart’s simple banking services have seen a lot of residual benefit from the controversy over debit card fees from the big banks. Wal-Mart MoneyCenters are kinder, gentler check-cashing stores, charging fees to cash checks. They also offer pre-paid debit cards. This bolsters my belief that the best marriage of convenience and respect would be to allow the postal service to engage in simple banking. As a not-for-profit, they would provide better deals for consumers, and they are conveniently located in the center of all major towns, perhaps the only entity in America with a more convenient set of locations than Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart’s MoneyCenters are largely competitors to other check-cashing stores, however (and probably a better one for consumers). The competitors to the big banks are credit unions and community banks. And they are experiencing boom times, as the banks suffer from their overreach. The fact that Bank of America just announced a major settlement with 13 million borrowers for $410 million in illegal overdraft charges will only further that surge. The banks can boast that these customers flocking to credit unions and community banks are unprofitable, but I’m not sure there’s a precedent for a business bragging about having fewer customers.
Maybe those Wall Street bonuses will be even smaller this year. The sound you hear is one tear falling to the ground.
UPDATE: I should add that the Move Our Money campaign from the New Bottom Line has reported $50 million of transfers away from Wall Street banks and into community banks and credit unions in one week of existence. One Silicon Valley businessman alone, Mike Fox, Sr. divested $8-10 million from Bank of America by himself.
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I just noticed passing by this morning that a big electronic billboard at a major local intersection has an ad from a local credit union proclaiming, “Free checking! Free debit cards!”
Heh.
Mike Flannigan weighs in on last night’s raft of liberal and progressive victories. Bottom line: Don’t underestimate Occupy Wall Street’s influence.
At my local post office, the people are very nice and very slow. Simple banking is a good idea. But first they will need to master the tasks of simple weighing of packages and simple selling of stamps.
I know I should research this more before asking you this question, David, but, especially because of the subject of your post, I am asking for your thoughts or your explanation of what’s the deal – if true – with Occupy Oakland depositing the $20,000 received from OWS into a Wells Fargo account? Am I missing something?
I agree and am buoyed by the extend of the OWS movement. I have NEVER given money to a political movement or candidate. Or, Jerry Lewsi for that matter. But, I have donated four times to FDL and Occupy Supply because I KNOW we need these people to succeed. Talking about “taking our country back”, that may be the only thing the TEA party is right about. We ARE the 99%. And that means there a whole helluva lot of us.
Bringing back the Postal Savings Bank actually is a great idea.
http://american-business.org/2663-postal-savings-banks.html
read this….by little bobby zimmerman
One who sings with his tongue on fire
gargles in the rat race choir
bent out of shape by society’s pliers
CARES NOT TO COME UP ANY HIGHER
BUT WOULD RATHER GET YOU DOWN IN THE HOLE THAT HE’S IN
come on now, you have seen this kind of thinking at work, if someone gets a raise, it pisses off some people, they want you to make less too…they cannot understand that they are now more likely to get a raise, because you did
fuck this austerity bullshit,
i will not be pulled down into the hole with these sick thinking sacks of shit…..let them come up to higher ground where we should all stand…..
OT, for anyone who followed my market call for a major Dow selloff from the 12,100-12,180 level. The Dow hit 12,186 at the end of the day yesterday, opened down 300 points this morning. Anyone still in this position should now have a stop protecting a substantial portion of their profit. Now, back to the revolution, hopefully, with some of you now in a position to make a donation to the cause. ;-)
Ah, I don’t understand why you are still advocating playing with Wall Street. If you have been following the conversations here, you might realize that the titans of Wall Street do not have our best interests at heart. We are the 99%.
I have a question. What do credit unions do with the deposits? Do they recycle them back into the TBTF banks? In the old days, local banks kept corresponding balances with metropolitan banks. What do the credit unions do with the new cash? One would like to think they recycle it into their communities, but nothing is less certain.
I have seen some credit union ads on the tv here. This is a great thing.
brilliant! COUP D’ETAT: Credit Office Union Postal Department of Egalitarian Trust and Truth
Hi. First time I’ve seen your handle, so, I don’t know you, and I assume you don’t know me. I have dedicated the last twenty years of my life to understanding the markets well enough to make good trading predictions. Over the last few years, I have shared a number of those predictions, the ones I was most confident of, with the FDL community. I’m proud to say that nobody has ever lost a penny, or failed to make a nice profit, if they took my advice. As with this call. Wall Street titans are scum, and I wouldn’t piss on them if they were on fire, but that is completely irrelevant to the benefit of being able to extract money from the money machine. It tickles me to help lefties fill their pockets from that money machine, particularly now, when money in lefty pockets means they may be able to make donations to the OWS cause. I’m too old and in too fragile a physical condition to be “occupying,” but this is one contribution I am able to make, and I am proud to do so.
It’s also known as the “crab bucket” mentality. I’ve had this argument with members of my family. Not fun. I don’t know why people are incapable of seeing that the way out is to lift people up, not tear them down.
Only took your advice once (yesterday) and can’t say I made any money but I didn’t lose any that I had in my son’s college accnt. Thanks your prediction was right on. Now if you could recommend a nice $6 bottle of cabernet? :)
There is a recent study out indicating that if your mother was under stress during her pregnancy you will be born with a stronger fight or flight instinct and therefore would be more likely to be conservative and tend toward “crab bucket” or curmudgeon personality traits like my father (Irish Canadian born during depression) luckily my mother was French Canadian (never under stress because they party all the time) and I got my genes mostly from her side.
keep putting out your meme regarding this. each time it makes a ripple, it affects the whole body……best wishes…..
The big payoff was today-I predicted the max for the Dow would be 12,180, it hit 12,186 at the end of the day yesterday. Down 400 points from there right now.
If $6 is all you have, I’d recommend a shiraz lol.
Is this the start of our double dip, it seems to me current problems do not match current proposed solutions and no willingness to accept reality. Uber wealthy will have to eat some of their own shit before we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Without getting into all the complexities, I believe the market will go down a lot, probably well below Dow 10,000 eventually. Next best entry point to sell should be anywhere close to Dow 12,100. Should not get above 12,180 again.
That $6 Shiraz may be too pricey in the near future.
But even more necessary, perhaps. ;-)