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| Better Check Bouncers! |
Guess you caught the latest "Good News" story about credit unions in yesterday's CUNA - News Now feature story.
The article: "Overdraft Price Study: CU's Still the Best Deal" ( see www.cuna.org/newsnow - 7/10/2013) touts the fact that a national study "shows credit unions again remain the best deal for consumers."
Credit unions achieved this remarkable "best deal" rating by charging only $28 on average for a checking account overdraft, while those "big bad wolf" banks charged an average of $30!
CUNA, our national guardian of the philosophical flame, goes on to breathlessly proclaim that the $28 CU overdraft rate is...
than what banks have charged the past five years."
As one of my astute, long-term co-workers commented about the CUNA article and this wonderful CU member advantage: "If you are going to be taken advantage of by your financial institution, we are proud to announce that credit unions will do it with a smaller screw and less often!"
Believe she was a bit too discreet in her hyperbole. Think it would be more correct to say, that:
"In terms of overdraft fees, commercial banks on average rape and pillage the consumer, while credit unions only pillage."
(Taking 2 or 3 hours wages from a working man or woman to pay for an overdraft is serving people of modest means?)
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| Do you feel a draft? |
CUNA, our national guardian of the philosophical flame, goes on to breathlessly proclaim that the $28 CU overdraft rate is...
"considerably lower
As one of my astute, long-term co-workers commented about the CUNA article and this wonderful CU member advantage: "If you are going to be taken advantage of by your financial institution, we are proud to announce that credit unions will do it with a smaller screw and less often!"
Believe she was a bit too discreet in her hyperbole. Think it would be more correct to say, that:
"In terms of overdraft fees, commercial banks on average rape and pillage the consumer, while credit unions only pillage."
(Taking 2 or 3 hours wages from a working man or woman to pay for an overdraft is serving people of modest means?)
3 comments:
And the best part is anyone who dares to try and protect the member/consumer is automatically branded an "enemy" by the "dis organized" movement. Poor Liz Warren how did she ever get elected? Nobody likes regulation but why do we get it? Because we keep abusing the people with outlandish and unjustified fees. I guess its just too hard to manage a credit union without feeing the bejesus out of the members. Here's a tip start working on expense reduction. The trappings of credit unions should never be on a par with banks. Besides that it will be very hard to unravel those exspensive infrastructures when the member/consumers eventually win the war.
Jim & Dennis - Once again you guys just don't get it. With historic low interest rates the compression to the bottom line is horrible. Credit Union operating expenses remain high. We can't make it on loan interest income or investment income at these low interest rates. We have to fee these folks. NSF fees, Overdraft fees, Stop payment fees, Late payment fees, Over the limit fees, etc. etc. 53% of the profitable credit unions would be unprofitable if you take away their fee income. You don't really expect credit unions to start reducing their operating expenses. That would mean we have to give up our country club golf membership, company car, and worse of all our CEO SERP & travel budget. No way. Bring on the fees. Sure it hurts the member. But it would hurt them more at the bank. We hurt less.
Must confess that I do recognize that, perhaps, I truly do not "get it" any longer....
Regret that, because credit unions are such a wonderful idea ...
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