40,000 Accounts Opened at Credit Unions on November 5th

As you may or may not know, November 5th was "Bank Transfer Day".

The purpose of Bank Transfer Day? To transfer as much money as possible from for-profit banks to non-profit credit unions.

The major impetus of the Bank Transfer Day movement was the move by many major banks to charge monthly debit card fees. Anger towards big banks had been simmering for a while, but the proposed introduction of these monthly fees pushed many people over the edge.

The big banks eventually decided to withdraw the proposed monthly debit card fees due to the unprecedented vitriol that was being directed their way, but the Bank Transfer Day movement pressed on. Many people felt as though the banks were completely gouging the population, despite the fact that it was US taxpayers that had bailed the banks out during their darkest hours.

Anyways - just how successful was the Bank Transfer Movement?

According to Bloomberg.com, credit unions attracted a total of 40,000 new accounts on November 5th, with the average person depositing a total of $2,000.

According to the Credit Union National Association, from September 29th (which is the day that Bank of America announced its $5/month debit card fee) to November 4th, 20,000 people per day opened up accounts at credit unions throughout the country. When all was said and done, credit unions reportedly took in approximately $4.5 billion in new deposits thanks to the Bank Transfer Day movement.

To give you some perspective, Bank of America had approximately $916.11 billion in total deposits as of June 30th, 2010.

So - was Bank Transfer Day a success?

On one hand, the banks backed down on their proposed monthly debit card fees, which was the impetus for the movement in the first place.

On the other hand, banks will surely be back with new fee schemes down the road, as they look to plug the holes left by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Filed under: General Knowledge