Banner day for local credit unions

Bad feelings about big banks brought extra business Saturday to local financial institutions.

Community First Credit Union in Santa Rosa took in 50 new members, the best single day for new accounts in the credit union's 50-year history.

Redwood Credit Union added about 300 customers, many of them participating in a day dedicated to moving money out of national banks.

Bank Transfer Day became a focal point for Occupy Wall Street demonstrators and their supporters in Santa Rosa. And it was embraced by local credit unions and community banks whose mission of local banking and investment is suddenly getting a lot of attention.

Prior to this year, enlisting 50 new members would have been a "good month," said Community First Vice President David Williams.

A large banner on the office at College and Mendocino avenues proclaimed, "For People. Not Profit."

Williams took the message to the steps of City Hall, where a crowd of more than 250 gathered for an Occupy Santa Rosa rally cheered as he voiced support for shifting bank deposits to local companies.

He called the nation's largest banks "corporate Leona Helmsleys," referring to the late hotel magnate who was nicknamed the "Queen of Mean." And he said the transfer of funds to his credit union "creates jobs right here where we live, not in Dubai."

A spokesman for Wells Fargo Bank, which had to close early after three protesters were arrested inside the downtown bank branch, said that demonstrators and critics were "lumping" Wells Fargo in with all large financial institutions.

Wells Fargo, he said, since 2009 has reduced the principal owed on home mortgages by $4 billion and last year donated $20.7 million to Bay Area schools and nonprofits.

"How are they helping folks in financial need?" Ruben Pulido said of other companies. "How much are they giving to local schools?"

But on Saturday, it was all about transferring frustration into action.

Community First opened its branches in Sebastopol, Guerneville and Healdsburg and extended Saturday hours at the Santa Rosa office. Redwood Credit Union branches stayed open several hours later than usual to accommodate the extra business.

Unlike major national banks, which operate to make a profit and have operations in multiple states, a credit union is a nonprofit cooperative that is owned and controlled by its members.

About 2:30 p.m., Gabriela Gibson, a hospice nurse who lives in Monte Rio, was transferring her checking and savings accounts from Wells Fargo to Community First. Gibson said she was not part of the Occupy Santa Rosa movement, though she supports the call for greater community investment and keeping funds local.

She said she's had her Wells Fargo accounts for years and that she has stayed with them out of convenience.

"I didn't know how big of a difference it would make," she said, adding that now she feels like she's part of a larger movement with so many people transferring their funds.

At Redwood Credit Union, the 300 new members added Saturday were on top of another more than 300 members added Friday, said Robin McKenzie, the credit union's senior vice president.

McKenzie said that the credit union usually averages about 50 to 60 new members a day. In October, Redwood added about 600 members who brought their money over from Bank of America.

"They felt they wanted to do something. They wanted to go local," said Tim Sikes, manager of the credit union's branch on Fourth Street near Farmers Lane.

Sikes said the day was both busy and exciting and he didn't think it would let up anytime soon.

"It's been fun," he said. "And we'll be here on Monday."

Bank Transfer Day was started in October as an Internet campaign by a former Bank of America customer in Southern California upset over a planned $5 charge for using a debit card — which was rescinded last week amid the negative publicity. But the campaign has become a key rallying point for Occupy movements across the country.

At the Santa Rosa rally, banker Williams appeared as a leader of the GoLocal Sonoma County business group along with fellow member Terry Garrett.

He told the crowd that transferring their bank accounts was "the single largest step you can take" in terms of wielding economic power.

Seventy percent of the U.S. economy is consumer spending, Garrett said. When consumers strategically shift that spending, "it makes a huge difference."

Justine Johnson, an Occupy Santa Rosa organizer, reacted with a large smile when told how many people joined both Community First and Redwood credit unions on Saturday.

"I think what we're doing is having a real effect," Johnson said as rain began to drench the Occupy demonstrators. "The protest, if nothing else, helps educate the public."

You can Reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 521-5213 or martin.

espinoza@pressdemocrat.com.