THE "MOVE YOUR MONEY" MOVEMENT

On December 29, 2009, a grassroots movement was born out of the public’s frustration with the behavior of Wall Street banks. Called “Move Your Money,” it was the brainchild of Eugene Jarecki, a documentary filmmaker who wanted to strike a blow for Main Street USA. In short order, using selected cuts from “It’s a Wonderful Life,” a classic moral fable about a small-town banker, he produced a video and "Move Your Money" website urging the public to show their disdain for bailout-fueled mega-bonuses and other “too big to fail” behavior—by pulling out their money and moving it to a community bank. The site even provides a link to a zip code look-up service to help consumers find a financially sound local bank in their area.

The website and video have steadily picked up steam. The video quickly became a popular item on YouTube; Arianna Huffington wrote about it on the Huffington Post, a popular online news site, and within days she was making the rounds of various cable and broadcast news programs, including CNBC. The filmmaker himself was interviewed by Steven Colbert, adding even more visibility. Now, there’s even a Facebook group devoted to the cause.

Watch the Video: Please allow a moment for the video to load. Watch it at YouTube.

Salon.com columnist Andrew Leonard, who lives in Berkeley, California, decided to write about the movement in a January 9th blog post on BusinessSpectator.com. After viewing the video and using the zip code look-up service, he ended up making a strong case for it—and as it turns out, Mechanics Bank, too.

“There's a lot to like about Mechanics Bank,” he says. It's been around a little over 100 years, survived the Great Depression, and refused $60 million in TARP bailout money. All I would need to do is arrange direct deposit of my paycheck, and I could have a checking account with no monthly fees and unlimited ATM refunds (for withdrawal fees charged by other banks).”

Not all the big banks were equally guilty, but we do believe strongly that any bank that is "too big to fail" cannot possibly serve the best interests of its customers and communities. When banks get that big, they lose touch with all but their biggest depositors and investors. Their senior executives and owners tend to live “somewhere else” so they don’t have a stake in most of the communities they serve, and they’re likely to be driven by quarterly profits, not long term stability and commitments to their clients.

So, if you know someone who is mad at Wall Street and ready to vote with their feet, please, send them our way to visit an office or to open an account online. We’d love to demonstrate what it’s like to have a trusted financial partner, committed to helping you and your community prosper and thrive.

Move Your Money: 90th Day Report by Dennis Santiago, CEO and Managing Director of IRA. Posted: April 1, 2010 05:52 PM.

"Mechanics Bank of Richmond, California is a 105 year old institution now in its' 5th generation of stewardship in the footsteps of founder E.M. Downer. They rate an IRA "B or better" grade which gets their $2.9 billion asset institution on the MYM list. The history of Mechanics Bank reads much like the script of "It's a Wonderful Life." The mechanics in the bank's name refers to the railroad workers first served by the institution in 1905. Now specializing in lending to small business, this community oriented institution is also trusted with the deposits of over 600 non-profits. They support over 400 charities and allocate a community chest equivalent to $1,000.00 per employee each year to donate to good causes as part of the bank's corporate efforts. Like many other community banks, they provide "toaster benefits" like refunding ATM fees if their customers use another institution's machine except for ATM's located in casinos. I interviewed SVP of Retail Banking Rauly Butler about the last 90 days and we started off by talking about the economics of new deposit acquisitionRead more about this movement's impact on Mechanics Bank."

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A recent poll found nearly a tenth of all Americans have pulled their money out of big banks after the financial crisis. A movement spearheaded by Arianna Huffington urges consumers to close their accounts with big banks and invest in small community banks and credit unions with a stake in their community. We discuss the Move Your Money campaign. Listen to KQED's Forum program discussing Move Your Money.

KQED Forum

About Mechanics Bank:

For more than a century, Mechanics Bank has been committed to helping people build prosperous communities as a trusted financial partner, forging lasting relationships through teamwork, respect and integrity. The $2.7 billion independent bank, headquartered in Richmond, California, offers personal banking, business banking, trust, brokerage and wealth management services through 33 offices across Northern California. For more information, please visit mechanicsbank.com.