Back to top Jump to featured resources

Featured from Banking

Featured Article filed under Banking | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Nov 27, 2012

Free Checking is Rare at Big Banks, Common at Small

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/free-checking-rare-big-banks-common-small/

Share of Institutions Offering Totally Free Checking

While just 24 percent of big banks offer totally free checking, more than 60 percent of credit unions and small banks do, according to a new report (“Big Banks, Bigger Fees“) from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG).

To gather data for the report, PIRG staff made inquiries at over 300 bank and credit union branches in 17 states. They found that credit unions and small banks have lower fees on average and do a better job of disclosing fees to prospective customers.

Comparison of Median Fees at Big and Small Banks

(Data from 2009 likewise show that, the bigger the bank, the higher the fees.)

PIRG also found that many financial institutions are failing to comply with the Truth In Savings Act, which requires that banks make complete fee schedules available to prospective customers. Continue reading

bankofamerica2
Featured Article filed under Banking, Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | 5 Comments | Updated on Oct 17, 2012

Too Big to Lend

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/big-lend/

A critical function of our banking system is financing small businesses. But big banks are doing a rotten job of it. At the nation’s largest banks, small business lending has plunged 33% since 2009. Trying to cajole or compel them to do more won’t make much difference because the problem is largely inherent to their scale. Continue reading

Home of the Economy
Featured Article filed under Banking | Written by Stacy Mitchell | 1 Comment | Updated on Sep 15, 2011

How State Banks Bring the Money Home

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/how-state-banks-bring-money-home/

One of the most significant consequences of the consolidation of banking over the last decade is how much it has hindered the economy’s ability to create jobs. There’s no single solution to this problem, but one of the most promising strategies involves creating state-owned banks that can bolster the lending capacity of local banks, helping them grow and multiply. Continue reading

sojourners-cover
Featured Article, ILSR Press Room filed under Banking | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Apr 1, 2012

Banking For the Rest of Us

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/banking-for-the-rest-of-us/

In this cover story for Sojourners Magazine, Stacy Mitchell writes that there is remarkably little evidence to support the idea that bigger banks are superior. They have come to dominate, not because they are more efficient or offer better services, but because they have rigged government policy in their own favor. It’s time for a new set of rules—banking policies for the 99 percent. Continue reading

US Treasury Department
Featured Article filed under Banking | Written by Stacy Mitchell | 1 Comment | Updated on Mar 18, 2011

Why Republicans Hate Warren’s CFPB But Love Another Bank Regulator

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/why-republicans-hate-warrens-cfpb-love-another-bank-regulator/

What’s really at issue in the fight over the CFPB is not how the agency is structured or how much power it will have, but whose interests it serves. Continue reading