‘Bank Transfer Day’ campaign pits Americans against Big Banks
Summary of story from Time, October 10, 2011
A Los Angeles woman has started a Facebook campaign urging Americans to close their accounts at large banks and move their money to credit unions.
‘Bank Transfer Day’ is part of the anti-capitalist and anti-big banking movement that is currently gaining momentum across the US, spearheaded by the Occupy Wall Street campaign in New York and other cities.
Kristen Christian, a 27-year-old art gallery owner is behind this latest push.
She says ‘Bank Transfer Day’ is not affiliated with Occupy Wall Street, but that she had received support from many of the organisers of that campaign.
Her Facebook group urges people to transfer their money away from big banks and into local credit unions by November 5, in protest at recent fee increases.
She insists she is not trying to cause a collapse of the financial system, saying: “I’ve been very careful to state that this is not … anarchy.”
“It’s shifting the money to a company people respect the practices of. It’s like, if you don’t like Walmart’s practices, shopping at a local grocery store instead.”
Over 21,000 people have joined the Facebook group, but it remains to be seen how many account closures it will take for America’s largest banks to reduce their fees.
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