Lack of Accountability

Congress has the tools to make sure large credit unions do a better job of meeting their 1934 statutory requirement to serve people of modest means, and that starts with the Community Reinvestment Act.

Credit unions were created in the 1930s with a noble purpose in mind: Pool the resources of people who shared a common bond to help relieve the financial struggles of people of modest means within their community of shared interests.

Shop Therapy: A Bank Buying Bonanza. Large credit unions have been gobbling up smaller credit unions by the dozen, with 187 acquisitions last year, according to the Wall Street Journal. With fewer targets remaining, acquisitive not-for-profit credit unions have turned their attention elsewhere, buying a record number of banks.

We all know the sacrifices made each and every day by our men and women in uniform to defend our freedom. Shouldn’t we, in turn, ensure their freedom to select the best financial services to fit their needs? That can only happen if we allow our service members greater access to regulated on-base banking services than they currently receive.