It was one of those moments in which you just groan inside. I had insisted on going to see a new movie that was based off of a cartoon my children and I watched together [Ok, I can’t be the only parent who uses their kids to justify the entertainment shows they watch… ahem all the Dads who take their kids to Hannah Montana or Moms taking their daughters to Justin Bieber concerts… but I digress.] Sadly, in the case of the movie, the director took the superficial elements of the TV show and added millions of dollars to amp them up. The movie had tons of special effects, panoramic vistas… and none of the dialog or humor of the TV show. Let’s just say it lacked substance.
Recently, with all the regulation changes that have taken place in financial services many large banks are trying to remake themselves as well. They have grabbed at the superficial and thrown big marketing budgets into special effects while ignoring the substance of the dialog itself. Why did we have financial reform in the first place? Anyone remember headlines of billion dollar credit unions threatening the global economy? No… me neither. So I find it sad that in the passing of new legislation the new rally cry from large banks is that they are going to do away with free checking. It reminds me of someone not liking the rules and deciding that since the rules are changed they are going to take their stuff and not play anymore.
As more “Big Banks” look at the new legislative landscape they are going to try and do a Hollywood makeover. They will add more of one thing but it will be at the expense of something else. That’s why I’m so happy to work for a credit union, more specifically, Truliant. We do what’s best for you, the member-owner, and that’s awesome.
