AMARILLO, TEXAS -- There is a grass roots video online using the movie ''It's a wonderful Life'' to portray what's happening in America's big banking world today.
There is also a website called http://moveyourmoney.info/ with information about good local banks and what they offer.
It's a bunch of regular Joe's who are not Okay with the ''Potter'' fats cats taking government bailout money and then using it to lobby against the rest of us Bailey's in Washington DC.
J Pat Hickman President, of Happy State Bank says "Well apparently she was on CNN or Fox on New Years Eve. One of my customers called me and said some lady is on TV telling everybody to move out of the big banks and into community banks. I said hallelujah! Glad to hear it."
Hickman knows that running a ''Hometown'' bank means running into customers all over town. And they're either happy or not?
"I think probably the biggest thing is accountability. I go to church with you, our kids go to school with you, we're your sunday school teachers. If we treat you badly, we have to see you everyday. If one of those mega-banks does you wrong with their office in Charlotte, North Carolina, or San Francisco, California they don't even know where amarillo is on the map," said Hickman.
Hickman admits the move your money campaign could be great for business. But he wants to make it clear hometown bankers didn't make this video to steal business away from big brother.
It's big bank customers fed up with the status quo.
Hickman also said "Grassroots consumers are saying: the best way to stop ''too big to fail'' is to make em where they're not so big."
Many local banks still strive to meet local needs Helen K. Bow of Wells Fargo gave us this statement in response to this story. "We recognize Americans are demanding more from their financial institutions during these difficult economic times. That's why at Wells Fargo we're focused on delivering the products, services and conveniences that contribute to the financial success of our customers. This means earning their trust -- and the trust of the communities we serve -- each day."
