Mega Banks Go After Credit Unions

Liberty Bliztkrieg
The rampant hypocrisy in the position of the mega banks on the issue of credit unions is so glaring it’s almost hard to believe. Then again, there is nothing we shouldn’t assume when it comes to mega bank criminality and culturally destructive behavior after these last few years of unlimited nerve, gall and theft. Why? They are above the law and they know it. From the LA Times:  
WASHINGTON — Credit unions have been snatching customers from banks amid consumer frustration over rising fees and outrage over Wall Street’s role in the financial crisis.
Now banks are fighting back by trying to take away something vital to credit unions — their federal tax exemption.
Bankers long have complained the tax break is an unfair advantage for large credit unions. Now they see an opportunity to get rid of it as lawmakers begin work on a major overhaul of the tax code that is aimed at eliminating many corporate exemptions and lowering the overall tax rate.
Bankers complaining about an unfair advantage. Well isn’t that special.
Credit unions said the effort to take away their tax exemption was simply an attempt to stifle competition and remove one of the only checks on bank fees for consumers.
The tax exemption is crucial to credit unions, which by law can’t raise capital through public stock offerings the way that banks can, said Fred R. Becker Jr., president of the National Assn. of Federal Credit Unions, a trade group with about 3,800 federally chartered members.
“They’ll have to convert to banks, which is what the banks want,” he said. “Then they’d have, for lack of a better term, a monopoly.”
The industry has grown significantly since the 2008 financial crisis, boosted by outrage over Bank of America’s 2011 plan to impose a $5 monthly fee for debit card use.
Bank of America ditched the plan after protests from customers, lawmakers and the White House. But the controversy led consumer groups to launch an effort to get customers of big banks to switch to smaller institutions, such as credit unions. And the effort helped.
By the end of March, credit union membership surged to 95.7 million, an increase of 2.7 million from the start of 2012, according to SNL Financial.
“The banking industry has no problem with competition. We have problems with competition when it’s on an un-level playing field,” said James Ballentine, the American Bankers Assn.’s executive vice president of congressional relations.
Oh no problem with competition? Free markets right? Like they way you got down on your hands and knees in 2008 crying for a taxpayer bailout? Got it.
As I have warned about for years, this is what happens when you provide no-strings attached bailouts to sociopathic monopoly companies that control the government.
Full article here.
In Liberty,
Mike
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