Saturday, January 09, 2010

Act locally and "Move Your Money"

Add "bank locally" to the long list of what all of us should do locally -- eat locally, shop locally, create (and appreciate) art locally, etc.

Wyoming residents interested in investing locally should consider putting at least some of their assets in credit unions or local banks.

This is spurred by a new cause advocated by Arianna Huffington of The Huffington Post. Called Move Your Money, the Facebook fan page is racking up big numbers. The web site has some great info, and included a photo of George Bailey ("the good ol' Savings & Loan") facing off against megalomaniac banker Mr. Potter in "It's a Wonderful Life."

I'm a long-time credit union member. I patronize my local credit union: First Education FCU

Here's a list of Wyoming credit unions: http://www.cuawyoming.com/

And a list of Wyoming banks: http://us1.irabankratings.com/MoveYourMoney/IRACommunityZip.asp?affiliate=moveyourmoney&zip=82001&submit=Search

2 comments:

RobertP said...

Mike,

Very good points. I will take this time to point out that the Bank I am employed at, UMB Financial Corp., lead bank UMB Bank N.A., also UMB Bank Colorado, was just named the #2 best bank in the USA by Forbes-Bank of Hawaii was #1. Rankings were based on strength and stability. UMB has done the right thing for almost 100 years.

Will also point out that it is a great place to work. They are making a big effort to make sure the associates are treated well. Volunteerism is big, just gave us 2 days off per year to use for volunteer activities in the community. UMB just received a community involvement award for the Urban League of Kansas City.

Best of all, when I look at the bonuses given to our top officers, my thought is "well deserved".

So find a good bank and patronize it. Do not give your money to the ones that got us here.

Bob

Michael Shay said...

Bob: You local bankers are doing great work against big odds.