A top Federal Reserve official says that locally owned banks do a better job of serving communities and small businesses, but they are threatened by federal policies that favor their big competitors. … Read More
How do we change course and revive a banking system that is more local and responsive to the needs of communities?… Read More
This guide will walk you through the steps of moving your bank account. You can download this a flyer to distribute in your community.… Read More
Here are the most compelling reasons to move your money to a locally owned bank or credit union. You can download this as flyer to distribute in your community. … Read More
Across the country, independent business groups that have been urging people to "buy local" are now making "bank local" an increasingly prominent part of their message, bringing new grassroots visibility and organizational infrastructure to the Move Your Money movement. … Read More
Is your community organization or local business alliance thinking about launching a public education campaign to encourage people to move their accounts to locally owned banks and credit unions? We have a range of resources to assist you, including help with definitions and identifying local banks, sample flyers, graphs and background articles, examples of local banking campaign materials from around the country, and more. … Read More
The biggest banks impose much higher fees on their customers than small financial institutions do. This is exactly the opposite of what was promised in 1994 and again in 1999, when Congress dismantled laws that had long restricted the size and scope of banks, ushering in a wave of mergers that left the industry dominated by a few financial giants. … Read More
Although small and mid-sized banks control only 22 percent of all bank assets, they account for 54 percent of small business lending. Big banks, meanwhile, allocate relatively little of their resources to small businesses. The largest 20 banks, which now command 57 percent of all bank assets, devote only 18 percent of their commercial loan portfolios to small business. … Read More
As we start down the path of breaking up with the big banks and defending our own economic interests and that of our communities, we should think about the whole range of financial services we use. We need to give thought to both the saving and lending sides of a bank. Each is crucial. On the savings side, community-based financial institutions need our deposits much more than the big banks do. But to be profitable community banks need to convert those deposits into loans. … Read More
