WALL STREET – Thousands of protestors continued to rail against big banks and tout credit unions and community lenders as the series of protests known as “Occupy Wall Street” spread across the country.
As many as 6,000 protestors walked from lower Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park to 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza near Wall Street passing out fliers. The protests are expected to culminate Nov. 5 – being dubbed Bank Transfer Day – when consumers are being urged to withdraw from big banks and deposit their savings in community financial institutions.
“The level of attention credit unions are receiving is nothing short of extraordinary, and is already having a big impact on what’s been a perennial issue for us – lack of consumer awareness,” said CUNA President Bill Cheney. “We believe the benefit from this exposure will and should extend beyond ‘Bank Transfer Day’ on Nov. 5. How much it will translate into new memberships remains to be seen, but a number of credit unions are already seeing a spike in new accounts.”
Both CUNA and NAFCU reported a huge uptick in new credit union memberships since the start of the protests and since Bank of America and Wells Fargo announced monthly debit fees. “As consumers become more frustrated with Wall Street they are more likely to look for and return to Main Street – credit unions – for low cost financial services,” said Fred Becker, NAFCU president.
Occupy Wall Street protests were held over the weekend on Wall Street, Detroit, San Francisco, Boston, Palo Alto, Fresno, Appleton, Wis., Worcester, Mass., and Juneau, Alaska, as well as dozens of other U.S. cities.
CUNA said it is using the protests to raise awareness for credit unions and is putting together a social media plan, tools for credit unions and coordinating with leagues to amplify the message that consumers should use this opportunity to check into credit unions.
In three weeks, the Wall Street protest movement hopes to implement a Nov. 5 walkout, the effects of which could have a far greater impact than months of sit-ins and protests. Being billed as Bank Transfer Day, and as of two weeks ago having attracted 14,000 RSVPs via Facebook to the national event, the campaign is urging Americans to close their accounts at large banks and move their money to credit unions.
The idea for Bank Transfer Day was started by 27-year-old Los Angeles art gallery owner Kristen Christian, who said she has moved her accounts to CoastHills CU.
As for the date, Christian chose Nov. 5 because of its association with Guy Fawkes, the 17th-century British folk hero who in 1605 tried to blow up the House of Lords.
