Occupy LA: Bank Transfer Day Saturday; Occupy Downtown Banks Friday (VIDEO)

Just about everyone was irate when Bank of America announced a new monthly $5 debit card fee. But Kristen Christian, 27-year-old Los Angeles gallery owner, decided to do something about it. She wrote on her personal Facebook:

If you don't want to pay the likes of Bank of America $5 a month to access your money via debit card, just transfer your cash to your friendly, local credit union.

Christian has turned what started as common-sense advice to her friends into a nation-wide Bank Transfer Day this Saturday, November 5. While not technically connected to the Occupy Wall Street movement, Occupy movements nationally have rallied behind the day of action.

Occupy Los Angeles has a weekend of events planned, including a Mass Bank Action day on Friday. Although the name of the day is similar to Oakland's Day of Mass Action, which ended Wednesday in some violence and arrests, LA's day of action is expected to be peaceful. LA's Mass Bank Action Facebook page explains:

After weeks of impromptu bank marches through the financial district with 8 - 30 people, the protesters have decided to ramp up their stand by calling for a city-wide march on major banks who have defrauded consumers, mixed investor and consumer banking, foreclosed on peoples homes and taken advantage of the weak economic climate by adding new banking fees. More than call attention to these financial giants and the special interests in government that protect them, OccupyLA urges consumers to transfer their money to credit unions or local banks that actually invest in their communities.

Friday's events will take place in the downtown LA financial district, at Grand and 5th St, and will include:

• 3-5:30pm march and teach-ins at 4 major banks in the financial district (route released at Pershing)
• 6pm March converges at LA public library space for dinner
• 7pm Community Speak Out! at LA public library

In solidarity with Saturday's nationwide Bank Transfer Day, Occupy LA will have a downtown rally at 10:30am at 350 S. Grand Ave. The rest of the weekend will include a series of speakers and panels.

PJ Davenport, television producer and member of Occupy LA's press committee, told Huffington Post Los Angeles:

Occupy LA expects a strong turn out for our Bank Transfer Day March. Additionally, many Angelenos indirectly participating in the Bank March will be quietly closing their bank accounts and transferring to credit unions. Across the nation credit unions have seen a major increase in account holders in 2011. If they continue to put people before profits, credit unions may well reshape the banking industry as we know it.

Watch for tips on how to transfer from your bank:

Comments

[Tarpon22]

07:44 PM on 11/05/2011

650,000 People moved their Money to Credit Unilons LAST MONTH.
It is making a difference and the numbers are growing and the Movement is becomming known to everyone.

Keep moving your money.

Let the Banks know the Public is control and they are going to be FORECLOSED

[mlaiuppa]

02:19 PM on 11/05/2011

And this will eventually bite the big banks. Not this year. Not next year. A lot of those moving their money are "small potatoes", young people without a lot of earning power. But in 20 years, they'll be reaching their prime earning years. And they'll still be with their credit unions. And the current depositors that are sticking with their banks will be dying off from old age over the next twenty years.

I imagine at that time there will only be two major banks left, B of A and JPMorganChase who will have been buying up all of the other banks over those twenty years just to keep their assets at the same levels they are now. I expect in 20 years both will not have many more depositers and assets than they do now as those joining won't offset those they will lose.

Short sighted. That has been the problem with all business and political decisions in this country. No one can see past the current fiscal year. If they started thinking longer term, 20, 50, 100 years into the future, I'd like to think the decisions would be different. But probably now. Money is still the bottom line. The only people that count are artificial.

[mlaiuppa]

02:19 PM on 11/05/2011

70,000 may not seem like a lot, but at least 650,000 consumers have already joined credit unions since Sept. 29, when B of A announced their new debit card fee.

It doesn't matter than they "took it back". Everyone knows they'll find a way to stick it on again, one way or another. It doesn't matter that the other banks didn't follow B of A's lead. They'll find a way to stick it to their customers too.

Banks are no longer banks. They are investment corporations that do banking on the side. The depositors are no longer the banks primary concern as they are no longer their main customers. Their stockholders are their customers now.

Credit unions and small local banks are the only ones providing banking services and ONLY banking services now.

It isn't over either. After Nov. 5 people will continue to move their money. We'll see what the numbers are at the end of the year.

[Foodgrade]

05:31 PM on 11/05/2011

That's ok. Now we need to boycott the stock holders interests.

[WILLIEMOJORISIN]

12:49 PM on 11/05/2011

I'll stick with BOA .

[holidaybike]

07:35 AM on 11/05/2011

i gotta love the idiots of this occupy movement, everytime i see one of them post acomment about how banks are the reason the housing market crashed. GET A CLUE it isnt the banks fault that you are being forclosed upon that would be your fault for not paying your BILL!!!!! Also banks didnt cause the housing crash, GREED by everyone who was buying and flipping homes, and that applies to everyone not just the wealthy. There are many middle class people i know who got casught up in it as well as lower class folks who got loans thanks to politicians who forced banks to lower their qualifacations for loans so if YOU OCCUPIErs really wnat to blame someone BLAME THE HOUSING AND FINAINCE COMMITY in WASHINGTON i believe BARNEY FRANK was the lead on that one start with HIM GO TO HIS HOMES AND CAMP OUT START THEIR then go to his boyfriends house the head of fannie and freddie

[mlaiuppa]

02:28 PM on 11/05/2011

How simplistic.

From what university did you get your degree in economics? They need to give you a refund.

Oh, wait. Finance. Community. Capital I. Foreclosed. Apostrophe didn't. Qualifications. It would be THERE, not their. Apostrophe boyfriend's.

Correction.

From what high school did you graduate? In what state?

You probably don't realize it but you are one of the lower class folks. I can't imagine an upper class university graduate making so many grammar and spelling errors. Nor anyone who makes over $250,000 a year doing so.

[holidaybike]

06:23 AM on 11/06/2011

grew up in new york the most liberal education one can buy. Was taught by mostly ex hipppies from the 60s what do you expect. I wrote that in aheat of rage sick of hearing peopel like you complain about banks when its your own fault for getting a loan you could not afford. What school did you go to ? I guess you spent more time on punctuation and spelling thne real world issues LIKE FINANCE,CAPIAL,FORCLOSURE,LOANS, COMMON SENSE
Oh and by the way my company makes well over 250k i unfortunatly do not thanks to all the taxes i must pay, all the insurance i must have thanks to lawyers, all the epa crap that must be done not to mention all the fees and waste that goes along with government crap

[Foodgrade]

05:39 PM on 11/05/2011

Ok, now tell us about Bush's and Paulson's bailout. That was the homeowners fault too I suppose. Corporations, banks and Republicans take no responsibility for any of it, even though they do the outsourcing and import foreign workers. It's also the homeowners fault that the banks fraudently raised people's payments when there was no balloon payment in the contract. It's the homeowners fault that the banks took Federal money to mitigate the forclosures, pocketed the money and went ahead with the foreclosures. It's the homeowners fault that today the banks pay people almost zero interest on savings accounts. It's also the homeowners fault that the banks took that bailout money along with zero interest loans from the government that continie today and invest it in China.

Republicans need to take a long walk off a short pier and take their cons with them. Republican = Something for nothing.

[holidaybike]

06:31 AM on 11/06/2011

I was never for the first bailout so there is no way i would be for a second. I do blame Bush , but along with him are clinton and his entire houseing agenda that FAILED and Bush went along with. The blame is shared by all from clinton thru obama the only politicians i do not balme are the tea partiers. the rand pauls who speak the truth and want to fix things as does guys like marco runio and paul ryan. I will alwasy side on the GOP as long as they continue to work toward cutting taxes getting rid of captial gains and the death tax . id love to see the IRS go away along with the dept of education which has done nothing but make our schools far worse. Id would revamp the EPA as well not get rid of but clean up . As far as banks I am no fan of banks but its not their fault that people are being forclosed upom the people LIVED OUTSIDE their means. I bought a house and land for 180k in 04 it was a good fair price i could afford it a year later that same house on sma eporperty was 350k NOT FAIR PRICE and i would not have afforded that.

[holidaybike]

06:36 AM on 11/06/2011

I had friends jump onto that wagon i saw people i know could not afford those homes jump on and all had the idea to flip in in three to five years before their balloon payment or refi would have to be done. All knew what they were getting into but knowone knew that hosuing prices would crash. That wasnt the banks fault that was each and every greedy person out there myself included i bought a vancant piece of land for 50k in 05 i got it 10k cheaper then the lot next door why the investors i bought it from were selling everything they wanted to convert to cash they knew that it could not stay so expensive much longer. They had bought that lot in 03 for 5k today i still have it its worth 4k . I had every intention of flipping it as soon as i could make 25 k off of it i had an offer three months after for 20 k more and i turned it down GREED got me also now i have a piece of dirt worth way less then i paid and the only way i will ever break even and get my money back is to build a home on it MYSELF and sell it. Once i can afford that i will lol .

[Hydro916]

03:38 AM on 11/05/2011

Been with my credit union since 2005. Loving it! No problems. :)

[WorkhelpWorkhelp]

12:57 AM on 11/05/2011

Control our money locally like N. Dakota has since 1919. Watch this great doc and see all about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swkq2E8mswI&list=WL40442CD8FFF5BDEC&feature=mh_lolz

[nasknit]

12:30 AM on 11/05/2011

No bank accounts with Bank of America EVER! No credit cards with Chase in decades! I've been with local bank, for decades. Then, it got bought by National City, which then got bought by PNC. So far, so good.

[mlaiuppa]

12:22 AM on 11/05/2011

Sorry. Been with my credit union for 30 years.

[pcs5141]

12:15 AM on 11/05/2011

Got rid of BoA and joined a credit union a couple months ago,feels great.

[jacksprat0862]

11:41 PM on 11/04/2011

The peoples new mantra should be, " I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore".

[sergal stew]

11:21 PM on 11/04/2011

Take your money in CASH! I have heard from more than a few articles where someone tried to get over $5K and the bank did not have that much on hand! Talk about ripe for an Ol' fashioned bank run.....

[Whogivesafox]

10:10 PM on 11/04/2011

I moved to a local bank from Chase and Chase bought that bank.. I got a mortgage at my local bank and they sold it to Bank of America. I understand the emotion behind this, but I don't see the point.

[pcs5141]

12:07 AM on 11/05/2011

The point is to dump the banks and join a credit union where the customers profit instead of some fatcat executives.

[mlaiuppa]

12:23 AM on 11/05/2011

Neither Chase, B of A or any other big bank is going to buy your local credit union.

[Phemale]

08:51 PM on 11/04/2011

I've already transferred a long time ago; But why the EFF do you(AOL/HP0) care to know?

[StopCensoringMe]

08:20 PM on 11/04/2011

New account opened at local bank - CHECK
Direct pays (including PayPal) cancelled or changed - CHECK
Direct deposits - IN PROCESS
Taking all but the essential (until all business is complete) funds our of BofA - 1st thing tomorrow

KMA BofA

[mlaiuppa]

12:24 AM on 11/05/2011

Don't forget websites like Amazon or if you do automatic payments for insurance, utilities, etc.