Credit unions have added $4.5 billion in new accounts since the end of September, CUNA says, reporting that four out of every five credit unions affiliated with the group report that the increase is due to attempts by big banks to raise fees on customers or Bank Transfer Day, a movement birthed by social media that will take place tomorrow.

Bank Transfer Day organizer Kristen Christian explained the logic behind the movement on the group’s Facebook page.

“I started this because I felt like many of you do. I was tired—tired of the fee increases, tired of not being able to access my money when I need to, tired of them using what little money I have to oppress my brothers & sisters. So I stood up. I’ve been shocked at how many people have stood up alongside me.” Christian wrote. “Me closing my account all on my lonesome wouldn’t have made a difference to these fat cats. But each of you standing up with me…they can’t drown out the noise we’ll make.”

Big banks like Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank have also taken flak for attempting to impose additions fees on customers who use debt cards, although many of the banks have withdrawn their plans due to public outcry.

Credit unions are member-owned and non-profit; they typically have fewer fees than corporate banks. Credit unions across the country, including some in Minnesota, have been offering special promotions and extending hours in preparation for Bank Transfer Day, CUNA said. Minnesota’s Affinity Plus launched the aggressive “ditch your bank” campaign in early October,

“Our struggling economy is not the disease, it’s the symptom,” according to Affinity Plus’ campaign. ”There is mounting evidence to prove that big banks with their profit-at-all-costs agenda are actually making our collective disease worse by systematically making choices that undermine the efforts of regulators and ordinary people like us to make changes and get back to a state of health.”

Occupy Wall Street has also helped cement the focus on banks. In Minnesota, Occupy Wall Street has targeted big banks for a series of demonstrations focused largely on the banks’ role in the foreclosure crisis.

CNN Money reports:

Now, under proposals being considered by the bank, Bank of America would offer customers new ways to avoid having to pay the fee.

Currently, only customers with certain premium accounts would be exempt from the fee.

Under the new plan, customers would be able to exempt themselves by having their paychecks deposited directly with Bank of America, maintaining minimum balances or by using Bank of America credit cards.

Bank of America’s retrenchment comes the same day that JPMorgan Chase decided not to impose similar fees. Chase’s decision follows a test of the fee it began in two states in February.

Wells Fargo also announced late Friday that it is canceling the debit card fee tests it was planning to introduce in five states. Customers in Georgia, Nevada, New Mexico, Washington and Oregon will no longer see a $3 debit card fee that was scheduled for statements beginning on Nov. 15.

The subject of new debit card fees is just one of the issues that has protesters from the Occupy Wall Street movement rallying all over the country — including in Florida.

GOPers in Florida have said that the new regulations from Dodd-Frank are solely to blame for the banks levying these new fees. Senate candidate Adam Hasner and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., have both taken up the new conservative meme claiming that banks were “forced to charge customers new fees due to the negative and costly requirements associated with the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul law, in particular the ‘Durbin Tax.’” Dodd-Frank legislation was a response to the country’s financial crisis that many economists say was partially caused by the lax regulation of financial institutions.

State Rep. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth, recently filed legislation that that would ban banks from charging fees on debit cards.

Clemens told The Florida Independent he considered the legislation since Bank of America first announced it would be charging fees on debit cards. He said that even though the legislation was not a direct result of the protests, he says his “outrage is similar to the Occupy Wall Street folks.”

“Now that we’ve bought into their promise of free, easy access to our own money,”  he said, “they want to charge us for it.”

Clemes also called claims that financial regulations are to blame for the fees “ridiculous.”

Dozens of demonstrators were arrested Oct. 9 for refusing to leave the State Capitol grounds after the 11 p.m. closing time. Many of them are contesting their arrests and have asked for a jury trial, saying their First Amendment rights were violated.

The group, including a “chain gang” of about 10 demonstrators, marched to Wells Fargo’s downtown Des Moines offices after gathering at the courthouse, where a sign on the door said the building was closed “due to an emergency.”

Check back later for a story on what happened in court.

State Rep. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth, has filed a bill that would ban banks from charging fees on debit cards.

Debit card fees are one of the issues that has protesters from the Occupy Wall Street movement rallying all over the country — including in Florida. Cities across the state and country have been mobilizing for weeks now in protest of the country’s rising income inequality, and have argued that the debit card fees are unfair considering that large banks in the U.S. are currently seeing their highest profits since the beginning of the recession.

Clemens’ House Bill 375 would prohibit “certain financial institutions from charging specified fees for use or holding of debit card by consumers” and provide “administrative penalties” if a bank does decide to charge those fees. According to a recent press release, it would make it unlawful “to charge or impose a dormancy fee, an inactivity fee or charge, or a service fee with respect to the use or holding of a debit card by a consumer.”

Clemens tells The Florida Independent that he has been considering this legislation since Bank of America first announced it would be charging fees on debit cards. He said that even though the legislation was not a direct result of the protests, he says his “outrage is similar to the Occupy Wall Street folks.”

Clemens also says that “what really bothers” him is that banks insisted on everyone moving into a “paperless and cashless economy.”

“Now that we’ve bought into their promise of free, easy access to our own money,”  he says, “they want to charge us for it.”

Conservatives have adopted a new meme that blames the recent fees on federal regulation. Along with Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., GOP Senate hopeful Adam Hasner has said that banks were “forced to charge customers new fees due to the negative and costly requirements associated with the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul law, in particular the ‘Durbin Tax.’” Dodd-Frank legislation was a response to the country’s financial crisis that many economists say was partially caused by lax regulations on financial institutions.

Clemens says the claim that financial regulations are to blame is “ridiculous.”

In a recent press release, he explains:

Seeking to please shareholders and continue to pay exorbitant salaries, extremely profitable banks have taken to blaming federal legislation that limits the amount they can charge for so-called ‘swipe fees’ to retailers,” said Representative Clemens. “But no one is buying the weak explanation.

“No one is weeping for an industry that makes billions in profits and in some cases, doesn’t pay taxes,” Clemens added.

Wells Fargo and Bank of America were among the first banks to announce monthly fees for the usage of debit cards.

Bank of America has paid no federal income tax for the past two years, claiming losses in its federal filings. Meanwhile, they have pledged to eliminate 30,000 jobs over the next few years, adding to our country’s unemployment woes. Wells Fargo posted a $3.8 billion profit in the first quarter of 2011, and a $3.73 billion profit in the second quarter.

“The greed of these institutions knows no bounds,” Clemens said. “As soon as you try to end one deceptive or immoral practice, they come up with two more.”

Clemens says that politicians blaming regulation instead of the banks for the fees are “not there for the right reasons.”

“I don’t think they care anymore,” he says.

Clemens also says to “expect to hear the argument that state’s cannot regulate federal banks.” He says, however, that “a recent U.S. Supreme Court case (Cuomo v. Clearing House Association), [which]  granted the New York Attorney General oversight over practices of certain federally chartered financial institutions” is grounds for the legislation.

In 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Cuomo that federal law did not preempt states from enforcing their own laws on national banks.

According to The Miami Herald, it’s not clear whether Cuomo will be enough to ensure Clemens’ law can be enforced. According to Anthony DiMarco, a lobbyist for the Florida Bankers Association, “the state cannot impose the law because of the country’s longstanding dual banking system.” He told the Herald that “state banks comply with state law and a few national regulations, he said, and national banks answer mostly to federal regulators like the FDIC… [which means] big banks are allowed to charge fees under federal law.”

By assets, Wells Fargo is the second largest in the country, trailing Bank of America, which will roll out a $5 a month usage fee that will affect most accounts, save a student program and two premium accounts Premium and Platinum Privileges that require $20,000 and $50,000 in holdings, respectively.

While Citibank announced it’ll hold off on adding new charges to its customers, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and SunTrust Banks have rolled out their set of fees this past year.

Bloomberg explains the impetus for the new charges:

The [Federal Reserve] capped debit-card swipe fees at 21 cents starting Oct. 1. It will let issuers tack on five basis points, or 0.05 percent, of each transaction, or almost 2 cents based on the average debit purchase of $38, and a conditional 1-cent adjustment for lenders that follow fraud-prevention standards.

[…]

The cap, mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act, replaces a formula that averages 1.14 percent of the purchase price, or about 44 cents. The limit may reduce annual revenue at the biggest U.S. banks by $8 billion, data compiled by Bloomberg Government show.

In general, banks are finding new methods of warding off low-value customers who use savings accounts but avoid higher yield financial services. With economists stoking fears of a second dip into recession throughout the summer months, commercial bank holdings have increased at blistering rates due to individuals in search of a safe place to park their money.

However, with every new dollar under a bank’s management, that’s additional federal fees the bank has to pay, like deposit insurance premiums, also known as FDIC. And with interest rates near zero, and a dearth of expensive loans being issued, the financial firms have little to gain from the additional holdings. During the financial boom years preceding the economic collapse, banks were hungry for cash holdings to better leverage the high number of mortgages issued.

But, it’s not all bad news: Earlier in September of this year, the magazine Working Mother identified Bank of America, the second largest bank in New Mexico, as one of the top employers for working mothers.

The site will eventually total five solar plants and generate enough renewable energy to offset the carbon emissions of 288,000 cars after twenty years of production. Equivalently, the 1.9 million megawatt hours generated by the solar farm is expected to power over 186,000 average U.S. homes for one year.

Xcel Energy:

The announcement took place during an activation event held today at the 10.8 MW photovoltaic solar farm located at 800 W. Derrick Rd near the Carlsbad regional airport. Carlsbad City Mayor Dale W. Janway welcomed guests to the public event that highlighted the multi-site solar project that is expected to be fully activated by the end of 2011. The five sites are comprised of utility-scale, photovoltaic solar power plants or solar farms estimated to produce more than 109 million kilowatt-hours of energy in the first year of operation alone.

Financial services juggernaut Wells Fargo helped finance the project to the tune of $200 million. Since 2006, the bank has spent $2.2 billion on renewable energy projects, spanning a portfolio of 220 solar projects and 35 wind projects in 26 states.

The push toward solar energy has encouraged regional academics to reach out to the area’s 25,000 farmers with cost-saving techniques that could reap dividends in a part of the state known for its spotty availability of electric power.

From Western Farm Press:

New Mexico State University’s College of Engineering and the Cooperative Extension Service are teaming up to show New Mexico’s farmers and ranchers how they can use alternative energy in their business. Extension officers can now provide live demonstrations with a portable solar-powered water pump.

[...]

Tom Jenkins, professor of engineering technology and head of the department’s renewable energy program, has been working with the Extension service to produce training presentations explaining the use of renewable energy sources in agricultural applications. Taking the idea further, Extension officers wanted to be able to demonstrate to the agricultural community in the state how solar power could be used to pump well water.

An example of the positive impact a few cells can have on a farmer:

A portable demonstration unit … that consists of a rolling cart outfitted with a small solar panel that collects heat energy from sunlight and converts it to electricity. The electricity powers a high-pressure submersible pump in a 50-gallon storage vessel. The pump is equipped with a sophisticated control box that optimizes the power needed to control the speed of the pump. Meters show the current and voltage produced by the solar panel and used by the pump.

The fee applies regardless of whether the cardholder hits “debit” or “credit” on the PIN pad. ATM withdrawals will not trigger the fee. Chase is also testing a $3 debit card fee in Northern Wisconsin.

Debit card us has surpassed usage of credit cards and paper checks, largely due to their ease of use and belief that they are safer than credit cards.

Wells Fargo said it needed to impose the fee because new regulations are cutting into revenues. Banks used to be able to collect overdraft fees from checking accounts — sometimes due to the order of transactions clearing the account or cash being available from a check without it actually clearing — but the Federal Reserve prohibited those fees unless the customer opts in for coverage. The Fed also capped swipe fees at 21 cents per transaction, lower than 44 cents that the banks wanted but more than the 12 cents the Fed said would give them a 70-percent profit margin.

Just as “free checking” is slowly phasing out as banks hike monthly maintenance fees and require higher minimum deposits or direct deposit, it seems that the free debit card could be a thing of the past. However, at least the fee is predictable versus the person who pays $35 for a cup of coffee because they accidentally overdrafted their account.

While a crowd of more than 100 called for job creation actors dressed as U.S. Reps. Erik Paulsen, John Kline and Michele Bachmann and one of their corporate sponsors, Wells Fargo MN CEO and Minnesota Chamber of Commerce chair Jon Campbell, “gobbled pies and refused to share a piece with hardworking Minnesotans,” according to a news release.

Participants passed out pie-themed fliers criticizing Wells Fargo donations by its PAC and executives in support of the representatives and others who have pushed federal budgets that would, according to the group, kill jobs in education, health care and throughout the economy with draconian cuts.

The release states that between PAC and employee contributions, Wells Fargo has given more than $5 million to politicians, including at least $8,700 to Bachmann, $12,250 to Kline, and $28,000 to Paulsen. More than $10,000 of donations to Paulsen came directly from the Wells Fargo PAC, with additional money as a personal contribution from Wells Fargo CEO Campbell, according to the release.

“We’ve already been attacked for so long, it seems like it’s getting harder and harder to climb out from the state we’re already in,” Carri Love of New Hope said in the release. Love, who attended the rally, said she has been looking for a job since July 1.

Officials hope to gather a crowd of “100-plus Minnesotans angry over the lack of good jobs, corporate political influence and continual budget cuts,” said the group, which describes itself as “a coalition of labor, community and faith organizations that are fighting for an economy that works for all of us.”

“Wells Fargo Political Action Committee and executives have funded politicians like U.S. Reps. Paulsen, Kline, and Bachmann who are pushing radical budget cuts that will kill the jobs of teachers, nurses, and others,” the release said. “While bankers enjoy taxpayer bailouts and record profits, Wells Fargo has cut jobs in Minnesota while funding the politicians who aren’t doing anything about our crummy economy.”

The march at South 6th St. and Marquette Ave. also will feature puppets, a march and a pie-eating contest.

The demonstration isn’t the first time Wells Fargo has been in hot water with a labor group. The Service Employees International Union Local 284 has, on multiple occasions,urged Wells Fargo and Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank to not charge interest on loans sought by Minnesota public schools forced to borrow as a result of the state’s nearly-monthlong government shutdown.

Brian Elliott, Executive Director of the SEIU Minnesota State Council, said the group has yet to receive a response from either group on its most recent request.