A suggestion: organize a banking boycott. (k&r if you like the idea)

[caseymoz]

There is one way we could stop banks from mismanagement and corruption, and I'm surprised nobody here has thought of it. A boycott of banks. Yes, it's difficult to do without banks these days, but we have difficult times now. Our money is our vote for what the bank is doing. Probably it should have been used far before this if we had been paying attention to what they were doing and had realized this was our power over it. Today we'll park our money in a bank for decades and use it to save and use the checking services without paying attention. It shouldn't work that way. It didn't work that way before FDIC, but this should more than correct it.

The old threat of the bank run used to be enough to keep the banks back in line, but it wouldn't take such an extreme measure to do it now, IMHO. Why not a bank boycott? That would give consumers more control, and it should be easy to organize. It will keep banks honest and disciplined: You want to "use" our money? You clean up your act.

I've never heard of such a thing, and it's a surprise. It looks on its surface that it has all the advantages of a bank run and hardly none of the bad effects. It will keep banks in line, and it gives depositors the equivalent of voting rights in what the banks do with their money. Doing it right now with banks vulnerable but still sucking up taxpayer money and misusing it. I think if we hit them with this now, they will very quickly begin to change.

I'm looking for review: does this sound like a good idea? k&r if so. Criticisms welcome.

[T Wolf]

1. Boycotts and other passive expressions of displeasure have absolutely no effect

on large institutions. Mostly because they are not complete enough.

Fighting an enemy - you do not let them choose the weapons and terms. What power do the financial institutions have - MONEY!!! So why would you attack their strength.

As with the media - the weak point is the individual people who run and/or work for the institution. If a protest is to be launched, it needs to taerget those upon whom you can have some impact.

[caseymoz]

2. delete

[sshan2525]

3. Good thought but....

boycotts almost never have any impact. On a local scale maybe but local banks aren't the problem. On a national scale, you'll never get enough people to join in to be noticed.

[Dover]

4. Yep, the culprits are the big banks and hedge funders. Walk your money over to a community bank.

That will change the whole game:



Crisis Creates Opportunity For Smaller Banks

A silver lining exists in the ongoing financial crisis for small banks with strong balance sheets — this is an ideal time for them to woo customers and executive talent from the faltering titans and to build their investment programs, according to third-party marketers.

"The larger banks are facing tougher times today, and community banks are positioning themselves to grow and seize opportunities in the marketplace," said LeAnn McCool, the national sales manager at Primevest, which supplies brokerage services to 350 small banks.

Lynn Niedermeier, the president of Invest, which works with 150 banks, said, "In the past the big question was, 'How will I compete with Smith Barney, Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch?' And today the answer is, 'Now you can.' "

Program managers and advisers are seizing this opportunity to expand their client bases and brokerage programs by stressing stability and community ties, and delivering personal service and advice.

Research indicates that deposits are moving to community banks from big banks with staggering losses, and financial advisers say they are turning this to their advantage...>


http://www.americanbanker.com/printthis.html?id=200903108LAH8WOM

[caseymoz]

5. The big banks have to be allowed to fail or get broken up anyway.

Letting companies get "too big to fail" has been shown to be a stupid idea.

With community banks we could still control that way, and let's not forget that.

[CoffeeCat]

6. Oh, you'll get your bank boycott...

...but it won't come in the form of a boycott.

I sense that there will be bank runs before this chapter in economic history is complete.

The larger banks are supposed to release detailed financial information--per the request of
Geithner, as a contingency to getting bailout funds. All of those major banks are most likely
insolvent.

It's possible that people could panic.

Also, there's been a lot in the news lately about the FDIC's reserves being shored up. There's
also been many mentions from Sheila Bair--that the FDIC isn't prepared for multiple bank failures
and that current reserves wouldn't cover many bank failures. Dodd just talked about giving the
FDIC more money.

This stuff is out there for a reason.

I think it's possible that politicians and Wall Street know that there are some triggers that could cause
bank runs. If the economy continues to tank--with more people losing their jobs--it could cause uncertainty
that leads to panic. The DOW dropping, as well as the Geithner-mandated report (due out in Mid April)
could cause havoc.

According to most economists, our economy is supposed to continue to tank well into 2010. We're
just getting started, so bank runs are not out of the question.

[notesdev]

7. Don't boycott - switch

Most small and medium size banks have had nothing at all to do with this mess. The thing to do is to take your money out of Citibank, BoA, etc. and put it in your small local banks. Ask about their balance sheets and exposure to CDS and other risky assets before you do; make sure they are solid. But do it.

[upi402]

8. Done, joined a CREDIT UNION the other day. n/t