Three Cheers For Move Your Money

Time:

Dennis Santiago of Institutional Risk Analytics reports that in the first seven days of the joint IRA/Huffington Post/Roosevelt Institute Move Your Money campaign, about 340,000 people searched 16,631 zip codes to find community banks in their neighborhoods that are rated healthy by IRA. Well, maybe not 340,000 people--340,000 searches. I know I searched the 02130 zip code twice yesterday, so that skewed things.

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Comments

[RIDGEBACK56]

11:25 AM on 01/07/2010

As far as that "spontaneous reopening" of closed accounts goes, it's a game to try to grab your last $20 or $39. Make very sure that when you close the accounts, you submit a letter of intent to close and not re-open an account. Have it signed by whatever VP is there at the time - Have the VP sign at least 2 originals in some kind of colored pen; I prefer red, it kind of jumps off the page and leaves no doubt. Then keep the original in a very safe place for at least a year.
When something happens, you'll have access to the letter and can hand walk it to your old bank. Of course, if we're all successful at this, we can either close the BOA's down or at least shrink them dramatically w/in an 18 month period. As we used to say 35 years ago: Power to the People!!!

[Lisa Ryder]

12:27 PM on 01/07/2010

Thank you!

[demma]

11:05 AM on 01/07/2010

Does anyone know if you can transfer credit card debt from Chase/Citi or BOA debt consolidation account to a credit union?
That is all that I have tied to the big banks but I don't trust them and want out. My checking/savings is with our local community bank that I've had for years but I want to wash my hands of the big dogs as much as possible. Living on cash basis now and it feels good.

[jake1492]

10:17 AM on 01/07/2010

The author says he is moving his money to a community bank "...not because the big banks are evil, but because...." he thinks he'll get a better deal and better service.

Calling people evil usually doesn't work out very well, so perhaps characterizing the big banks as evil wouldn't be useful. But unethical, distorting, dishonest and above all else greedy to the point of being willing to damage the country for their own selfish purposes are accurate descriptions of these big banks....and good reasons to pull your money out of them.

This is about more than "getting a better deal and getting better service". It's about the fundamentally dishonest way these banks operate and launder illegitimate money into the economy to the detriment of everyone else.

[dmsdzinr]

08:19 AM on 01/07/2010

GREAT IDEA & Work Arianna!!! I would have JUMPED on this IMMEDIATELY but I have NEVER banked with these 4 MONSTROSITIES! I do wholeheartedly ENDORSE this plan and hope that MILLIONS of Americans MOVE THEIR MONEY!

[hippie4ever]

12:45 AM on 01/07/2010

Our vote doesn't matter much so our biggest impact is with our wallets. I'm with a credit union & I belong to several coops and live in collective housing. Socialism is good, capitalism is stupid.

[vandegrasse]

04:04 AM on 01/07/2010

So true my friend!

[Raccoon1]

09:44 AM on 01/07/2010

"Out of control, unregulated capitalism", is bad. Capitalism spurs innovation and competition. Competition gives us better products for less money. But when too few people become too powerful (regardless of good intentions - rare though that is) the system breaks down. A level playing field and protections for consumers as well as the environment is an ideal medium for growth and innovation.

[Lisa Ryder]

12:29 PM on 01/07/2010

Out of control or unregulated capitalism=monoplies, compitition is evil! lol

[CheesePuff]

02:06 PM on 01/07/2010

Raccoon1, I would wager that the "innovation and competition" you are typing of is NOT what actually happens in the real world. Here is my point of view on this "innovation and competition":

Competitor 1 makes a product that is a decent product and they have made large sums of money off of the product.

Competitor 2 steps into the arena with a better/cheaper similar product in order to make large sums of money.

Competitor 1, having already made large sums of money, either 1) hamstrings Competitor 2 with patent infringement lawsuits such that Competitor 1 never gets off the ground or 2) simply buys out Competitor 2 and doesn't do anything with the former competitor's product.

That scenario is neither "innovation" nor "competition" in the traditional sense. It has become all about NOT competing in this monopoly/oligopoly environment. Put them out of business or buy them out.

[ResearchtheFacts]

12:04 AM on 01/07/2010

Ignore the nay-sayers. Where were they when we were fighting back bank fees? Where were they when we were asking for citizen protection not consumer protection? And, where are they now? On the wrong side of this argument.

Move your money. Let's show them downsizing. The more of us who move our money ("guess what"?) they soon won't be too big to fail. If we are investing money in banks or credit unions in our communities--they will hire more employess for the increase in customers. Those employeees will eat at local restaurants and frequent local coffee shops. They will patronize local dry cleaners, shops and businesses. Could you imagine our communities being alive again?

All because we made the simple decision to move our money.

[cavegal]

12:49 AM on 01/07/2010

Fanned! Agree. Where you keep and spend your money makes a big difference in your own community. I left the big boys 13 years ago and never looked backed. Banking locally gets you better service too. They know you and look out for you.

Recently my bank called me over activity that was unusual on my debit card. It turned out somehow my visa card was fished by a some company in Britain for over $400. They blocked the charge and re-issued the funds into my account immediately!. Had me go online to order a new Visa debitcard. Now that is customer service. It was all taken care of within 24 hours of the charge appearing.

[Matt Hotz]

11:58 PM on 01/06/2010

After over a year without regular work I am working again. I can finally establish regular activity at a bank and get to choose a new one. I am through with big banks.

[ResearchtheFacts]

12:11 AM on 01/07/2010

CONGRATULATIONS Matt Hotz!!!!!!

[cavegal]

12:52 AM on 01/07/2010

Congratulations and the very best in your new position. I can only imagine the difficulties you had to overcome over the past year!

[Leslie Waller Foos]

11:53 PM on 01/06/2010

I was with Bank of America for 19 years...checking, savings, IRA, credit card, etc and have excellent credit. After all the bailouts, I got notice that my credit card interest rate was going up (it was supposed to be fixed not variable). I got fed up & closed all of my accounts and moved them to my local credit union. The interest rates are better, the customer service is excellent and I am an owner through my shares. They offer all the services that the big banks do, but with many more pluses. Their interest rates are lower than BOA, too! I feel like it puts me back in control of my money and will hopefully (if there are enough of us that move) help bring the big banks back down to size so they are no longer "too big to fail". BTW, BOA didn't even ask me why I closed all my accounts!!! I can assure you the credit unions will not make you feel that insignificant. I hope millions of people move to either a local community bank or a credit union.

[Micki Pacific]

11:23 PM on 01/06/2010

I moved all of my family's accounts (6 total) from BofA to a local credit union three weeks ago. I have had to go back to BofA twice since then to reclose some accounts that they reopened, but think I am done with them now. Luckily they didn't get me for any more fees during the transition! Whew!

[livesimply]

01:23 AM on 01/07/2010

That's the rough part! I'm moving from BofA too, but as a small business owner, I have a number of auto payments and whenever anyone uses a credit card, it goes auto to my business account. Figuring out how to get all this changed (yahoo small business, etc.) in the days of FAQs without a person to talk to that knows anything but scripted answers is not easy, but it's definitely on my list.

[joshcarter]

11:06 PM on 01/06/2010

I never served in the armed forces, but my Dad did, in Vietnam. As a result of his service, though, I was able to become a member of USAA Federal Savings Bank, which is geared towards people in the armed forces and has broadened its requirements on who can join. Their checking account options are amazing -- they reimburse ATM fees, meaning I can get cash at any ATM anywhere without paying a cent, and now they accept check deposits using just my iPhone. If you have any family who served, look into them. If not, I suspect in the near future there will be other banks that work in the same way.

[livesimply]

01:27 AM on 01/07/2010

Wow. That is great. I have no access to this as my father served many years ago toward the end of WWll, got a medical discharge, and is now deceased, but I'm sure there are many that can access this. Thanks. Fanned.

[land2341]

09:47 AM on 01/07/2010

Double check live simply, they recently broadened their rules and you may qualify!

[Raccoon1]

09:48 AM on 01/07/2010

I belong and I'm sure that If your father served, you are eligible. I served, but we initially got into USAA because my wife's father had served. They also have far better insurances (auto, home, MC, etc) than I had from a regular carrier.

[deepfreezevideo]

10:55 PM on 01/06/2010

"And that's really what's useful about the Move Your Money campaign. It may not hurt the big banks in any appreciable way, as Martha White argued at The Big Money on Monday."

How sure is Martha White about that?
She's talking about the average American CHECKING ACCOUNT but she fails to take heed of the fact that since the recession hit, Americans have rediscovered SAVINGS.
And while most Americans might not want to hassle with moving their checking, they might be more than willing to close out their savings accounts and reopen them at a small bank.

[Spirit of 76]

11:08 PM on 01/06/2010

The first thing you will hear whenever there's a conumer action like this is that it won't have any impact. That's standard operating procedure, lol!

Believe me, banks value every penny. Moving longer term funds, like savings, has even more of an impact.

Go for it!

[nopilikia]

11:34 PM on 01/06/2010

Not to mention CDs. That really kills them, because they know exactly how long that money is going to be with them.

[deepfreezevideo]

09:11 AM on 01/07/2010

I know that MY banker wasn't too happy when I announced that I was moving my savings.
I made a particular point of letting him know what I was doing and where I was moving the money to.

[tapeatsbill]

10:46 PM on 01/06/2010

The person man I ever worked with was a senior exec from one of the big big banks. He was meaner than the ex cons I worked with at my summer job at the steel mill while going to college. In fact, he was just like Mr. Potter.

[frug]

10:46 PM on 01/06/2010

Grass roots power in the marketplace. We've always had it. Time we started using it.

[Reiner-von-Sinn]

10:44 PM on 01/06/2010

I'm doing it.

[proggirl]

10:28 PM on 01/06/2010

I'm looking into this, but was given a caution by a friend. Be sure they don't charge you to close your accounts.
I don't know if there's anything to this possibility, but it's certainly worth considering.