The Move Your Money Campaign
Are you outraged that the six largest bailed-out banks have used their government largesse to award another round of employee bonuses — to the tune of $90 billion, according to the New York Times? A new campaign suggests you don’t call your Congressman — just move your money to a community bank.
The grassroots movement Move Your Money is sponsored by Ariana Huffington and Rob Johnson, director of Economic Policy Initiative at the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute. (Yahoo!Finance posted an interview with him today.) They want consumers to shift funds away from the six largest ”too big to fail” banks: Citigroup, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo.
George Bailey and his customers, "It's a Wonderful Life"
Those banks, they argue, were largely responsible for the financial crisis because of their reckless derivatives trading. They enjoyed a record year of profits in 2009 by returning to those risky schemes — rather than using government bailout money and guarantees to lend money to ordinary Americans, particularly small business owners. (And don’t forget what happened with credit cards in 2009 … interest rates hiked, credit lines slashed, accounts closed.)
The Move Your Money campaign argues that the special protection given to the too-big-to-fail banks is wreaking competitive havoc on small community banks — putting even more power in the hands of the mighty. The mega-banks have been sending taxpayer cash back to Capitol Hill to thwart reform, including the regulation of derivatives.
The website includes a video with clips from the Frank Capra classic “It’s a Wonderful Life,” contrasting the David and Goliath banks. It also has a search tool to connect you with a local bank. (No matter what bank you put your money in, as long as it’s FDIC-insured, your deposit is protected up to $250,000.)
I moved my money in December from my bank, which was acquired by Wells Fargo, to a local bank — but I have to say it was purely mercenary. The new bank offers 3.26 percent interest on the checking account if you’re willing to follow certain rules. I can call Jenny, my personal banker, with any questions. I love it.
Would you move your money as a form of political protest? Comment here or email me at laura at laurarowley dot com and I will post your remarks.
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February 5th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
Grass roots ideas like this are appealing but rarely get enough traction to make any significant impact.
On another note, I like reading Laura’s opinions on Yahoo, mainly because I disagree with most of the things she says, so it allows me to keep a healthy perspective on thing.
More people should read and comment on this here blog though.
April 8th, 2010 at 4:13 am
I feel that in this particular situation, these banks will probably be “too big to notice”. I support moving your money in political protest, or to at least help you cope with the idea that you will not be lining the pockets of these fat cats anymore. However, whether they will notice is another question. Beyond the consumers that make up their deposits, there are plenty of large grossing businesses that utilize their services. It is these businesses that could make the largest impact, and in reality, for a lot of these businesses it will not be necessarily feasible for them to switch to a bank that may not offer as much support.
I am happy however with my Local Credit Union, which offers better interest rates. It also helps to know that I am in no way funding the bonuses of the crooks at any of these big banks. How is that for political protest?
April 10th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
If I felt it was necessary, I would definitely move my money out of the “mega-banks” to a community/local bank as a form of political protest. It is unfair for the larger banks to use bail-out money as bonus compensation for employees. If this is what the large banks are using bail-out money for then the government should not give them any money at all. If the banks need the money to keep from bankruptcy, there is no reason why it should be used to give bonuses to employees. I would definitely protest this if my bank was one of the larger banks misusing ‘financial aid’ from the government. It is irresponsible for the banks to do such a thing and I would not want to support that kind of activity.
April 11th, 2010 at 3:12 pm
I would most likely move my money from one of the “big” banks to a community banks for several reasons. I wouldnt call moving my money as a “politcal protest” but for safety, fairness, and security reasons. First of all, I wouldnt want one of those banks taking advantage of my savings, not protecting it correctly, and also the fact that the “big banks are sending money back for reform.” In my opinion, I think this is unfair and is taking advantage of the small banks and causing problems and some sort of competitiveness to arose. Also, the fact that the large banks were responsible for their reckless trading as listed above makes me even more compelled to move my money from a “mega-bank” to a community or local bank.
April 12th, 2010 at 8:19 am
I think that the idea of moving your money from the “too big to fail” banks to local FDIC insured banks is a very interesting idea. All in all I think that as a means of political protest, I can see no reason not to move one’s money to these local banks. That being said, I feel that this movement, while certainly a good idea, can only be as strong as the number of people willing to follow through with it. Moreover, I think that ideas like this campaign really highlight the power of the consumer in a way most people rarely, if ever, consider; so for that reason I think it would be great to see this campaign gain some serious support.
April 12th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
I think that the movement from “mega-banks” to local banks is not a bad idea. However I do think that it would not have much effect on the big banks unless it involves a great number of people. I also think that people have to in a sense have an incentive to move their money to a different bank. Much more than likely people are not going to move their money to a local bank, just so they are no longer supporting the “mega-banks”. I think they are going to have to have other benefits offered at the local bank to move, such as different interest rates, etc. I also have to say that I do not think government should get so involved, if a bank fails, let it fail. It obviously was not doing something right. Overall, I think the idea of the campaign is good; it will just be hard to obtain.
April 12th, 2010 at 4:33 pm
I definitely would move my money as a protest but I would not put it back into the hands of any economic institute such as the aforementioned. I personally believe at the rate that these financial instutions are conducting bussines there would be more security or just as much security offered to the consumer if one were to take all there savings and store it underneath a matress. There has been so much economic turmoil just in terms of the numerous hidden fees/charges that many banks have and now with the struggle of trying to get loans from the banks to invest in a home, small bussiness or education or economy seems doomed. However the idea to move your money from a “too big too fail bank” seems like a feasible plan of action.
April 12th, 2010 at 5:21 pm
I would move my money as a political protest if the bail out banks were giving bonus to their employers instead of the American small business man. The money that the government gives to these banks should be shared among the community or be able to hold some authority or rules over your bank account. The Move Your Money Campaign seems extremely beneficial to people. They have more of a feeling of control over their money. I would definitely move my money to acquire these rules and tell the bank where I would want my money and have a increase of interest.
CSV
April 13th, 2010 at 1:09 am
I would not move my money as a political protest because this my money that I worked hard for. I would only move my money if I feel its unsecured or unsafe. If I think I will benefit from a local bank than a bigger bank should be my call not a form of rebellion. The Move your Money Campaign however, seems to be successful to individuals. It allows them to feel much more aware ans safe where their money is going. Sometimes when it comes to certain things the government needs to step down and see if the situation can be fixed without them.
April 13th, 2010 at 6:48 am
I would not really move my money as a form of political protest because there is not much I as one person can do for many. If I had a large lump-sum of money that would kind of be hard. I would check on my money constantly to see that they are in good hands and if I do feel that my money will be unsecure or in the wrong hands I would take my money out and place it in another bank. The Campaign does seem like it is successful and it works. I feel like if I went through this process my money would be safe and I would hope this would work.
April 13th, 2010 at 8:39 am
I would definitely move my money from the “too big to fail” banks as a form of political protest because these big banks aren’t helping me or any of the other regular working people or small business owners, they are only looking out for themselves. The fact they give their employees bonuses with government relief money is ridiculous because they should be punished since they essentially are one of the main reasons for allowing this economic problem to occur. They should use the money to fix their mistakes so the country grows rather than plumits. So since these “too big to fail” banks already failed, I don’t see why anyone wouldn’t move their money to an FDIC-insured bank because of the guarantees and rules they have.
CG
April 13th, 2010 at 9:44 am
Though I think the political protest is a good thing I would not move my money. I feel as though people who work hard for their money should not just immediatly move it out of protest, if it may or may not be in safe hands. If I knew for sure that my money would be safe in these smaller banks then I would try to support the protest. I do think it is unfair what is happening with these “too-big-to-fail” banks however, at least if my hard earned money is in these banks I would feel more secure.
April 13th, 2010 at 10:01 am
I would not move my money from a larger bank to a smaller bank for a political protest. I have Bank of America and I love them. The decision to change banks should totally be min. It is MY hard earned money. I am sure the local banks have a few schemes of their own. The only way I will move my money is if I felt my money was insecure or I will see a large benefit come out of it.
April 13th, 2010 at 10:12 am
As a commuter college student, I spend the majority of my money on gas, food, and car repairs. Because I have an extremely small income, I never have much money in my bank account anyway. So for me, moving my few dollars from a larger bank to a smaller “community bank” would be more of a hassle than a form of protest.
If this crisis were going on (or possibly still be going on) say 20 years down the road, I would consider such a move. By then I would hopefully have some money saved up, and I would feel that move my money to a smaller bank would help out these smaller, struggling banks a little more.
April 13th, 2010 at 10:23 am
I would not move my money to a community bank because my bank is not on of the “too big to fail” banks. It is not a good thing that these banks are doing but I feel like for the large banks to get the message there has to be a large number of people that would transfer their accounts to a community bank. I for one do not have too much money in my bank account so it would not be a loss at all for the bank to lose me but for some of the older people who are wealthy and have a lot of money in the bank can make a difference. The campaign should mainly focus on getting them to transfer accounts and I do feel that this is a good idea.
April 13th, 2010 at 11:07 am
I could not really say that I would move my money personally, because I have like at the most $80 in my account and I really doubt that would do anything to help anyone. But if I did have like hundreds of billions of dollars and I could do something to help out the country, then yes I would. I just hate how corrupted our government is. But to agree with C.G., I have Bank of America as well, and I have never had any problems with them.
April 13th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
If I was going to benefit from moving my money to a smaller bank I would do so. Do I think I would be taking part in a huge protest? Probably not, considering I am only one person, and there would have to be a lot of momentum in order for such a campaign to be successful. It would also most likely be unsuccessful, because if the banks were to fail again because of these actions, the government would probably step in again and save the day of these undeserving banks. I do not support the bail-outs of these large banks, who are using the bail-out money for employee bonuses. Too much government involvement is never a good thing, even if the purpose here was supposed to be beneficial. Clearly, it was not considering the bail-out money only gave out unrewarded bonuses, especially during such a crisis. The bail-out money could have been used as loans to small business owners to employ Americans, who are struggling to find jobs, rather than benefit employees of these “too big to fail” banks. Overall, I would move my money if it were to benefit myself, but I do not belief there would be enough people who care enough to truly support a huge campaign protest.
April 13th, 2010 at 12:33 pm
I would move my money from one of the six banks that are to big to fail from a local one. My reasons for doing this would not be a form of political protest though. I would do this for an increase of interest. I would not be willing to take my money out of a bank that the government has already decided they are to important to fail. That is a form of security that you are able to attain with your bank, knowing that your federal government is going to bail them out. It is a form of corruption that the government will keep giveing these banks money, but as long as my money is safe I would not be willin gto change my bank.
April 13th, 2010 at 12:41 pm
I would not move from a larger bank to a smaller bank. Everyone in my family uses PNC, I love that bank, and I feel that it is more convenient that way. Not to mention, not having a real job also means that I barely have enough money in my account as it is to support myself for small things. If I ever REALLY needed money, the other accounts are on there to borrow from and to give back to. I wouldn’t move to a different bank, it wouldn’t help anyone else out anyway.
April 13th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
I would definitely move my money for the main reason being a political protest. I believe that the large banks. They misused the billions of dollars of bailout money from the government. They used it on employee bonuses and petty things when there are more important places and people to lend out the money too. The government bailing out the large banks who in turn did not invest the money properly is truly unjust. There are small business owners who were suffering by the recession and other American’s in dire need of the funding but in tern it was wasted. The banks do not deserve our money and in order for me to feel like i have control over my money I would definitely move in into a smaller privately owned bank making 3% interest and getting treated better. It gives the money owner more control of their money and really makes a great impact. If everyone eventually moves their money maybe larger banks would think twice about mis using money, since they are a bank they should have known better methods in investing the government funding.
April 13th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
I would definitely move my money for the main reason being a political protest. I believe that the large banks. They misused the billions of dollars of bailout money from the government. They used it on employee bonuses and petty things when there are more important places and people to lend out the money too. The government bailing out the large banks who in turn did not invest the money properly is truly unjust. There are small business owners who were suffering by the recession and other American’s in dire need of the funding but in tern it was wasted. The banks do not deserve our money and in order for me to feel like i have control over my money I would definitely move in into a smaller privately owned bank making 3% interest and getting treated better. It gives the money owner more control of their money and really makes a great impact. If everyone eventually moves their money maybe larger banks would think twice about mis using money, since they are a bank they should have known better methods in investing the government funding.
forgot to initial(NN)
April 13th, 2010 at 2:27 pm
I think that it is ridiculous that the big banks of america are giving billions of dollars to their employees rather than doing something more beneficial for their customers. I would definitely switch my money over into a local bank to form a political protest. Small businesses are suffering while they are giving out large sums of money for no legitament reason. It is simply unjust. If more people do this change, it would put local businesses at a higher power than that of he big banks, which is exactly what our economy needs at this point in time. The big banks are mis using their money to the highest extent and the loss of their customers will givethem a hint to be better managers of that money. I also find it very ironic that there is a higher interest at the local bank anyways, making the decision to switch even easier. It is also ironic and pathetic that big banks are being so careless with money, when money is in fact their job.
VBH
April 13th, 2010 at 2:50 pm
I’m not so sure whether or not I would move my money especially not just as a form of political protest. I do agree that the large banks do misuse their money that the government gives them on bonuses and things like that but that ensures the protection of the customers. These banks are far too large to fail and that means that we can trust in them. Small banks might seem nice but there must be a reason why they can fail where as larger banks cannot. I’m not too well versed in banking so in my opinion i’ll go with the huge company and all the protection they bring
April 13th, 2010 at 4:50 pm
Im not sure if I would move my money to a local bank to protest but if the move would benefit me financially then I would switch in a heartbeat. If I learned more about the issue and became angered enough I would not only switch but persuade others to do the same.
April 13th, 2010 at 4:52 pm
Well, of course everyone wants there money to be in a safe, secure, and well-known bank such as the ones mentioned above; however, if people are aware of the schemes that these mega banks are pulling off then i don’t see what why Americans don’t switch to smaller community banks. Most of my family members in fact are members of a small community bank and they’ve never had a problem with it. They say that its trustworthy and more reliable than sat Bank of America or Chase. I for one thought about switching to this smaller bank but since I don’t have a credit card and don’t have anywhere near $250,000 in the bank, I don’t find myself having anything to worry about. But if i were to be affected by the money hungry capitalists, I would definitely move my money as a form of political protest. I believe this form of “boycott” i guess you can say, would somehow help big banks realize that people aren’t falling for their schemes anymore and that if these banks don’t fix up there act and start worrying about the benefits of their consumers rather than themselves then people are going to stop trusting them and move on somewhere else. —Antonio Rivera
April 13th, 2010 at 7:11 pm
After reading this article, I would definitely move my money to a local bank. I think it is very unfair that people who REALLY need the money are not considered, instead they give it away to employee as bonuses. the recession has affected a lot of people and specially small businesses. however, as a grass root movement it does not really get that much of attention. but, it is was for a political protest..I would definitely support it. there is thousands of people who need that money, and everyone should be treated equally!
April 13th, 2010 at 9:28 pm
Personally, I would move my money to a smaller bank as a political statement because this only shows the richer getting richer, while they poor stay poor. The big banks misuse bail out money to pay hefty bonuses to already over paid workers. That is a lot of money to be throwing away fribulously, instead of using it toward the citizen who need it, that help these big bank progress in the first place. But then again everything comes full circle because the citizens misuse the money as well at times. I would how ever move my money because if everyone moves their money, then these big banks will really learn who’s boss.
April 19th, 2010 at 6:48 pm
I used to belong to a small local bank before moving away to college. It was then that I switched to using Bank of America, and I’ve been very pleased with the switch. And even though I’m very comfortable there, I know that the services provided by such a large bank are not wonderful enough to encourage my continued participation in this “David and Goliath” battle. Small banks, just like all small businesses, should be encouraged to prosper, and the misuse of the bailout money needs to stop. I will do my part, being more informed on the subject, by moving my money back.
-MJQ
April 21st, 2010 at 1:38 pm
Truly I wold never move my money or put my money into anything without knowing the risk of it all. I would need to know exactly see how it is profitable to me and how long will it take me in order to even make that profit. Because lets be real it is a recession and I do not need anybody to screw with my money when I am making some type of bank.
April 21st, 2010 at 6:15 pm
Quite Frankly, I do not think I would move my money as of now because I only have enough to substain me; and without a proper assurance and a promise of no risk involvement, I would refuse to transfer my money. But, If the bank can help me give good interest rates along with no risk involvement, I would choose to transfer just because most of us in the crowd need help with our mortgages and prices in the country are constantly going up, so a reduction in interest rates would be good. Either way, If I earn more than enough in the future, I would defintely consider transferring my money just to help maintain smaller banks and also to send a political message.
April 27th, 2010 at 4:40 pm
I used to think that i should probably support banks that were just in my area so that would be one extra client for survival. However, I think that banks don’t handle money like they should, especially today in a rouch economy. I think that this is another reason that it is so hard for a hard-working middle class person to get a loan or financial help. I think that the government needs to go in and reevalutate their spending and structure banks in a way to handle money in a more economical way for a brighter and more financially stable future
May 6th, 2010 at 10:51 am
I work for a community bank, and the point is NOT whether the big bank will notice when you take your money OUT — they won’t. It is that the small. local, community bank WILL notice when you put your money IN. And YOU will notice, too, as that local bank makes loans to your friends and neighbors who run the businesses you patronize, to help them stay in business or expand their operations and hire more employees — again your friends and neighbors. You will feel better about yourself and your community will prosper.
An effort that is too small for the big banks to notice can still be big enough for a small bank and a local community to benefit from greatly.
May 10th, 2010 at 9:12 am
I agree and already have moved my money to local institution!