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WASHINGTON – The National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) today launched a national digital advertising campaign educating Americans on how they can limit the influence that Big Wall Street banks have over their finances and the economy. The campaign focuses on ways that banks take advantage of consumers in order to make a profit and urges consumers to join consumer-friendly credit unions. NAFCU launched the ad campaign in response to the wrongful attacks banks and their trade associations have made against the credit union industry.

In the “Stop Big Bank Bullies” campaign, NAFCU underscores the $243 billion in fines paid by Big Wall Street banks for the harm they’ve inflicted on consumers after violating numerous consumer laws. The campaign also highlights how these banks spend hundreds of billions in buying back shares of their own stock in order to line their own pockets.

“It’s time for banks to be held accountable; their bad behavior has been overlooked for far too long,” stated NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger. “Consumers have the power to stop these bullies by leaving their bank and joining a credit union. Credit unions put their 127 million consumers first and provide better quality and more affordable financial products and services. At a time when financial services are needed most, banks abandoned countless underserved communities resulting in a sprawl of banking deserts across our nation.”

Bank lobbyists have launched numerous campaigns calling for the removal of credit unions’ tax exemption status even though under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, banks received $95 billion in tax breaks, an amount that far exceeds the credit union tax exemption. Credit unions use this tax exempt status, which has been reaffirmed by the IRS, Treasury Department, and Congress, and their not for-profit cooperative structure to focus on providing consumers with better rates, lower fees, and going above and beyond to serve the communities in which they operate.

NAFCU’s campaign also points out the large disparity among bank and credit union net earnings, which highlights that the 100 largest banks earn just as much in one month as the entire credit union industry earns in one year.

“What’s concerning is that each of the top three banks earn more individually, than the credit union industry as a whole,” remarked Berger. “It’s time to stand up to these bullies; enough is enough. We need reliable, trustworthy, and genuine community financial institutions to help American families achieve their financial dreams. Credit unions will do just that, not greedy banks who only care about making a quick buck.”

To learn more about NAFCU’s “Stop Big Bank Bullies” campaign visit stopbigbankbullies.com.

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The National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions is the only national trade association focusing exclusively on federal issues affecting the nation’s federally-insured credit unions. NAFCU membership is direct and provides credit unions with the best in federal advocacy, education and compliance assistance. For more information on NAFCU, go to www.nafcu.org or @NAFCU on Twitter.