Inaugural inspiration ... bye-bye banks

I didn't quite manage to NODD on inauguration day, and since I work for a progressive nonprofit, I went to work rather than taking the day off to protest the inauguration.  But, I did see a bit of a local protest going by on the 16th St. Mall in Denver, and its brief stop outside a Wells Fargo bank branch, where "1-2-3-4, we don't want your fucking war" was shouted loudly again and again by a few hundred people.

It brought up the thought that, well, we don't want their bank, either.  Wells Fargo has a particularly bad, anti-union reputation here in Colorado, for its financing of strike-breaking Oregon Steel down in Pueblo.  But banks generally, by pursuing profit ahead of serving people, can be horrific engines for violence and antidemocratic repression, especially in the underdeveloped world.

Thinking about this has in turn inspired me to compile a bit of information on our strongest alternatives to banks:  member-owned credit unions.  And of course, my motive is to encourage people to dump banks and join credit unions.

Credit unions are non-profit institutions whose purpose is to provide financial services at reasonable cost to members.  Since they are non-profits, credit unions can afford to provide services at lower rates than banks ... one of the most commonly-appreciated being networks of no-surcharge ATMs.  Additionally, credit union members elect their directors, making the institutions more responsive to members than banks will ever be to their customers.

Credit unions originated in the mid-1800s in Europe.  The first U.S. credit union enabling legislation became law in Massachussetts in 1909 [1].  Congress passed federal credit union enabling legislation during the 1930s, and the credit union movement began to expand rapidly [2].  Credit unions are also found in more than 80 other countries around the world [3].

By charter, membership in any given credit union is limited to certain groups of affiliated people, such as employee groups, students/faculty/staff at universities, labor union members, etc.  Fortunately, most of us can find a credit union to which we can belong.  The largest credit union is the Navy Federal Credit Union, which serves those who serve/have served in the U.S. Navy (and their families).  There is even a White House Credit Union.  On the other end of things, there are credit unions that have been established to fight predatory lending by banks in low-income neighborhoods.

With the low-cost services that credit unions provide their customers, you might expect that banks would be upset about the lost revenues from potential customers who'd found better deals at credit unions.  Hmm ... my heart's just bleeding about it.  Fortunately, credit unions are fighting back effectively with grassroots lobbying.

With tens of millions of members, credit unions are a political force to be reckoned with.  Far more than banks, credit union members are likely to speak up when their financial institutions are threatened.

Credit unions are an outstanding alternative to banks, and to the high fees and rotten politics of the banking industry.  If you're not already a credit union member, join one!  And if you are, recommend them to family and friends!

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I'm hoping to put out an occasional diary on practical things we can do in our lifestyles and daily choices to promote progressive politics, democracy, environmental health, and the like.  If this diary is useful to you in learning about credit unions, please check back now and again for new diaries on other topics, and please consider sharing this information with others.

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Find a credit union to join:

Use this link to find a credit union in your area, or use this other credit union locator, or yet another.

Here's a list of state credit union leagues -- another good way to find credit unions in your area.

Citations:

[1] http://www.creditunion.coop/history/index.html

[2] http://www.pacreditunions.com/FAQs.htm

[3] https://www.woccu.org/about/index.php