Op-ed notes rising credit union acquisitions in the Midwest

The recent purchase of West End Bank by 3Rivers Federal Credit Union last month, is part of a disturbing trend of large, billion-dollar credit unions buying small community banks, costing American taxpayers tens of millions in lost revenue annually, writes Thomas Aiello of the National Taxpayers Union in a recent op-ed in the Journal Gazette.

“If Congress does not properly delineate the differences between banks and credits unions, it's only a matter of time before yet another local bank gets taken over by a bank-like credit union,” said Aillo, who noted there have been 42 such acquisitions in the past decade, with more than 60 percent occurring in the past three years.

Given that the credit union tax exemption's revenue impact is estimated to cost $22 billion over the next decade, it begs the question, of why credit unions that have decided to act like banks still enjoy special tax exemptions and advantages, he argues.

ICBA and the nation's community banks continue to call on policymakers and the public to “Wake Up” to the risky practices, costly tax subsidies, and irresponsibly lax oversight of the nation’s credit unions.