The far-reaching implications of the federal banking overhaul, i.e. Dodd-Frank, have trickled down to consumers in the form of additional fees and prompted a grassroots movement to pull deposits out of big banks and transfer them to credit unions or smaller community banks.
According to a report from New Orleans’ Gambit, Bank Transfer Day is being held on or before Nov. 5, a date for unsatisfied consumers to take action and move their money to a smaller or not-for-profit financial institution.
The Bank Transfer Day movement, Gambit reports, comes from Los Angeles art gallery owner Kristen Christian, who says in a statement that “I was tired – tired of the fee increases, tired of not being able to access my money when I need to, tired of them using what little money I have to oppress my brothers and sisters.”
The Transfer Day idea, Christian says, is separate and not affiliated with the Occupy protests taking place in almost every major city in America and across the globe, New Orleans included:
How does a credit union differ from a bank? Perhaps most significantly: a credit union is a not-for-profit organization. Rather than shareholders, credit unions are run by locally elected representatives, and each member has a share in voting. And though monies in a credit union account don't have the same FDIC protection that a bank account carries, they are federally insured by a different government agency, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). Otherwise, most credit unions offer many of the same services as a bank does, including credit cards, direct deposit, home and auto loans and CDs and IRAs.
Rusty Cloutier, president and CEO of Lafayette-based MidSouth Bank, says he’s been talking about the “big, bad banks since before it was cool” and has even written a book on the topic.
Cloutier says MidSouth, though it has a presence in two states and is still growing, is a community bank at heart, which is why the big bank stigma has “continued to bring [MidSouth] business.”
Because Lafayette’s banking industry is for the most part rooted by community banks, Cloutier doesn’t foresee significant participation in Bank Transfer Day on a local level.
Cloutier also points out that because credit unions retain non profit status, they don’t pay taxes like businesses do, which could hurt local tax bases that support public services and schools if a major shift occurs.
“But that’s a whole other topic for another day,” Cloutier says with a laugh.
Debit card usage fees imposed by Bank of America and Regions, which has several branches in Lafayette and a heavy presence in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, have since been revoked in the wake of public ire. Regions, however, has implemented other account fees since Dodd-Frank has gone into effect.
Read more from Gambit here.
JUNE 17 If anyone ever wonders why Saints fans hate Atlanta with a capital H, here's a good indication. Radio "professionals" at an Atlanta station created an entire segment around making fun of former Saints player Steve Gleason, who is now paralyzed by ALS. Listen, nobody's ever accused DJs of being rocket scientists. But how could someone think it is amusing to pretend to ask a man with a degenerative, fatal disease if he will be alive next week? The DJs have been fired, and are now whining about how gutless their former bosses are. Wow.
JUNE 18 Here's the latest from the Advocate on the fatal hit-and-run accident allegedly involving the president of the Livingston Parish School Board. He's accused by police of hitting a 21-year-old man on a highway early Sunday and driving away. The man died at a hospital later. On Monday, police seized the president's truck and towed it away. But he's available for board meetings: apparently a $500 bond is sufficient for this type of thing over in St. Helena Parish.
JUNE 18 Former broadcast journalist Griffin Scott has posted this plea on his blog for financial assistance from his readers. Scott, who says he was fired after he wrote something fairly innocuous (for Facebook) on his wall, is suing a media giant for his job back. He's framed himself as David going after a bloated media giant, and he's probably not far off.
JUNE 18 Here's a fairly absurd column posted on DIG Magazine about the completely absurd practice of naming killer storms. Tornadoes don't have names. Blizzards don't have names. But hurricanes do, and there's a big process to bestow them, Jacques Cormery writes. He's right about the crazy assemblage of names -- this year, there's everything from Tanya to Humberto -- and his idea that we don't waste good names on killer storms is a good one.
JUNE 17 Political columnist John Maginnis has some advice for Louisiana Republicans: grow up. After the schism that occurred in this past session - fiscal hawks teaming up with Democrats to spank the Republican "majority" and hand Gov. Jindal his, er, aspirations for continued solon control -- they need to figure out how to get along with each other, Maginnis writes.
JUNE 17 Here's the Picayune's obit story for Dorothy 'Miss Dot' Domilise, the lady who made poboys at the uptown restaurant that bears her name. Miss Dot moved to New Orleans during World War II, where she met and married her husband Sam. When she passed away Friday she was 90, and had spent more than 60 of those years working at the restaurant on Annunciation Street.
JUNE 17 This editorial in the Advocate speaks in favor of the consent decrees that have federal judges overseeing police operations and the sheriff's parish prison in New Orleans. Mayor Landrieu and Sheriff Gusman can't get along, so outside forces, like the Inspector General and the judges, are needed to make sure things run right, the editorial opines.
JUNE 18 Here's a post from Manny Schewitz on Forward Progressives that is good for a chuckle. Manny had an epiphany back in November, and is sharing it with us today: he believes that Fox "News" is killing the GOP by pandering to right wing nuts. Now, don't get it twisted: Manny's not broke up about it. He says he enjoys watching the downward spiral with a shot of whiskey and "a schadenfreude chaser."
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FYI, I bank with both. The loans are typically better through CUs but the CUs I've used and research can't touch the bigger banks in terms of features for my other accounts; which saves me time which equals saving me money.