I wrote a column called “Ditch your bank for a credit union” for MSN Money way back in 2007, well before the financial crisis, credit crunch and recession. I suggested that if you wanted better interest rates and better treatment as a customer, you might consider a member-owned credit union for your banking needs.
Now the Huffington Post’s Arianna Huffington has started a campaign to get people to ditch their banks in favor of credit unions and community banks. The point isn’t just to get better interest rates and treatment; it’s to protest egregious bank behavior.
Here’s how commentator Bill Maher put it in a recent column “Stop the Abuse: It’s Time to Break Up With Your Big Bank“:
That’s right, I’m talking to all of you that keep doing your banking at the giant, too big to fail, Wall Street banks that brought our economy to the brink of disaster, were rescued by trillions of dollars of our taxpayer money, then paid us back by using that money to hire lobbyists to convince our lawmakers in Washington to kill financial reform.
They took our money… but cut back on lending.
They took our money… and made record profits — and paid themselves record bonuses.
They took our money… then returned to the risky behavior that led to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, with record unemployment, bankruptcies, and foreclosures.
They took our money… but kept on with all the greedy, abusive, ruthless, and cold-blooded practices that have earned them untold billions of dollars a year — year after year after year.
If the desire to poke big banks in the eye is what finally gets you to consider your local credit union or community bank, then I’m all for it. Learn more at MoveYourMoney.info.
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