The Fed's recent announcement that interest rates will be kept near zero for an additional eighteen months - into late 2014 - isn't particularly surprising. As the NYT's writes, "long-term rates already are at record low levels and, like pushing on a spring, the going gets harder as it nears the floor." What may be surprising is the effect this is likely to have on the millions of Millennials, who, up to this point in their young lives, have not been well-known for long term planning and investment.

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Over the past few months, credit unions and big banks have been battling hard for the hearts, minds, and bank accounts of the consuming public. While public anger directed at big banks is driving a movement which appears to favor credit unions, the status of smaller, community banks is less clear.
 
In the current political and economic climate, it is easy to see how so many consumers are flocking to the more community-oriented, more service-focused credit unions. But what about community banks? Shouldn't these community-oriented, responsibly-run, relationship-driven organizations be cashing in on this climate? And if not, why?

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Credit unions have been marketing themselves as fundamentally different from behemoths like Bank of America for a long time. Now, their message has finally met its moment.

Between the Occupy Wall Street movement and a nationally organized "Bank Transfer Day" on November 5th, more than 700,000 people have moved their accounts from big banks to their credit union competitors, according to the Credit Union National Association. Those people have brought with them $4.5 billion in assets.

As they say: when the sun is shining, make hay.

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