I’ve always disagreed with the money-grubbing policies of the big banks, but they were just too convenient.  I use a small credit union for much of my money needs, but I needed some online bill paying services to make my life easier.  I heard about the movement to move money out of big banks, but  I was too lazy to actually do it.  I have difficulty finding time to do laundry, much less reorganize my finances and bill payment system.

Recently I found a bank that actually drew my attention and got me thinking about actually acting: New Resource Bank.  The bank purports to invest in sustainability programs, both big and small.  It even offers “Solar CDs” for investment.  (I’ve determined I can get a much higher ROI by putting up my own solar panels, but I like the thought.)  I only need it for online transactions, so the fact that it’s in San Francisco doesn’t slow me down one bit.  I set up an account and I’m in the process of transferring my banking over to the more sustainable option.

It’s hard to argue with “voting with your money”.  And it feels good to no longer support the big banks that I feel do so much harm to the planet and economy.


I unfortunately have to rescind my support of New Resource Bank.  I was just about to get into the swing of using their bank, when I had problems transferring money into the account.  They apparently have a limit on how much money I can transfer into the account, and it’s so low that I can’t utilize it for online banking.  None of my previous accounts had this low limit, so I was surprised.  I called and talked to the customer service, and they couldn’t raise the limit high enough for me.  I’m really not sure why.  It’s very frustrating, as it’s clearly an arbitrary limit that they’ve imposed.  So, I’m closing my account.  If you have a progressive bank that does work, please let me know!