and Peoples, Planters, First Charter, Sou. Nat'l and...
😎 The Carolinas Credit Union League CEO Dan Schline "is pitching the legislation as a way to restore financial services to economically distressed communities vacated by traditional banks." [link - BNC].
✅ The CCUL is making its' "bullish" pitch for credit union open membership to our legislators based on the abandonment of "economically distressed communities vacated by traditional banks." The faux measure of abandonment used by CCUL is the number of bank branches closed over the last couple of decades in Tier 1 counties.
😎 For the record, there is a far more legitimate and honest reason that many bank branches have been closed. Take a look at the list above. Most North Carolina communities used to have a "bank on every corner"! As the above mergers proceeded, especially after the banking debacle following 2010, many banks found that they owned branches "side-by-side" and consolidated locations. No North Carolina counties were "vacated" - that's just a "bullish" idea!
😎 Being honest, wouldn't it be better to count the number of branches which still exist in Tier 1 counties, rather than create a fiction of facts around those that were consolidated a decade ago?
Here's the list of over 400+ bank branches operating today in those Tier 1 "financial deserts"[source - FDIC]:
1) ALEXANDER - 4 banks, 6 branches, $369 mil. deposits; 2) ANSON - 2 banks, 2 branches, $213 mil. deposits; 3) BEAUFORT - 6 banks, 10 branches, $795 mil. deposits; 4) BERTIE - 1 bank, 1 branch, $126 mil. deposits; 5) BLADEN - 5 banks, 7 branches, $380 mil. deposits; 6) CALDWELL - 7 banks, 13 branches, $949 mil. deposits; 7) CASWELL - 2 banks, 2 branches, $79 mil. deposits; 8) CLEVELAND - 9 banks, 17 branches, $1,417 mil. deposits; 9) COLUMBUS - 6 banks, 10 branches, $1,391 mil. deposits; 10) CUMBERLAND - 15 banks, 51 branches, $4,855 mil. deposits; 11) EDGECOMBE - 6 banks, 7 branches, $340 mil. deposits; 12) GRAHAM - 2 banks, 2 branches $171 mil. deposits; 13) GREENE - 1 bank, 1 branch, $127 mil. deposits; 14) HALIFAX - 8 banks, 12 branches, $806 mil. deposits; 15) HERTFORD - 2 banks, 4 branches, $672 mil. deposits: 16) HOKE - 4 banks, 4 branches, $177 mil. deposits; 17) HYDE - 1 bank, 2 branches, $95 mil. deposits; 18) LENOIR - 7 banks, 7 branches, $997 mil. deposits; 19) MARTIN - 7 banks, 7 branches, $ 398 mil. deposits; 20) MCDOWELL - 3 banks, 3 branches, $354 mil. deposits; 21) MITCHELL - 1 bank, 2 branches, $293 mil. deposits; 22) MONTGOMERY - 3 banks, 7 branches, $379 mil. deposits; 23) NASH - 10 banks, 24 branches, $3,699 mil. deposits; 24) NORTHAMPTON - 1 bank, 1 branch, $70 mil. deposits; 25) PITT - 13 banks, 32 branches, $3,367 mil. deposits; 26) RANDOLPH - 11 banks, 23 branches, $2,027 mil. deposits; 27) RICHMOND - 5 banks, 6 branches, $490 mil. deposits; 28) ROBESON - 7 banks, 24 branches, $1,363 mil. deposits; 29) ROCKINGHAM - 9 banks, 19 branches, $1,321 mil. deposits; 30) RUTHERFORD - 9 banks, 11 branches, $833 mil. deposits; 31) SAMPSON - 5 banks, 10 branches, $668 mil. deposits; 32) SCOTLAND - 6 banks, 6 branches, $425 mil. deposits; 33) SURRY - 10 banks, 20 branches, $1,456 mil. deposits; 34) TYRRELL - 3 banks, 5 branches, $95 mil. deposits; 35) VANCE - 7 banks, 7 branches, $483 mil. deposits; 36) WARREN - 2 banks, 3 branches, $121 mil. deposits; 37) WASHINGTON - 1 bank, 1 branch, $69 mil. deposits; 38) WAYNE - 10 banks, 22 branches, $2,194 mil. deposits; 39) WILKES - 9 banks, 11 branches, $868 mil. deposits; 40) WILSON - 9 banks, 14 branches, $1,914 mil. deposits.
😎 Not only are the 40 Tier 1 counties already broadly served, most by multiple N.C. banks, but 35 of the 40 Tier 1 counties are served by the most highly rated banks in the U.S. [link].
"Financial deserts"? ... definitely "bullish"!
