More Transfers from Banks to Credit Unions

Published by Graham Tomlin for Credit Union Solutions Ltd in Central Government and also in Education, Health, Housing, Local Government

Not content with moving their personal accounts from a bank to a credit union, activists in the USA are going one step further by moving public monies from Banks to local credit unions as the following item by Diane Dietz explains.

City Eyes Credit Union Accounts

Northwest politicians push for cities to put some of their money where it will help the local economy

By Diane Dietz

Published: (Friday, Nov 25, 2011 05:01AM) Today

Eugene is one of several Northwest cities that may place a sliver of its reserves into credit unions in coming months.

The movement toward depositing taxpayer dollars in nonprofit institutions gained prominence after the Nov. 5 nationwide protest in which an estimated 700,000 people moved their accounts from big banks to credit unions.

Now some politicians, including state Rep. Jefferson Smith, D-Portland, are pushing for cities to move some of their money to credit unions to stimulate local economies.

“A majority of small business lending comes from smaller local institutions, including community banks and credit unions,” Smith said. “Small business lending helps create jobs within localities and within Oregon — homegrown jobs.”

In Seattle, two city councillors publicly moved their personal accounts to credit unions during the early November Bank Transfer Day protest. The next week they led the Seattle City Council to a unanimous resolution to reconsider the city’s banking in light of the “concentration of wealth and abuses in the financial sector.”

Graham Tomlin of Credit Union Solutions added.

“It is entirely possible for this to happen in the UK once the Legislative Reform Order for Credit Unions becomes operational in January 2012. There is nothing stopping councils, not for profits, registered social landlords and charities from doing the same especially where their interests overlap such as where they work with tenants.

We have already had interest expressed by an organisation seeking to deposit monies into M for Money Credit Union and I expect to see other organisations following suit.”