WASHINGTON—Just who are community banks really competing against?
Not who you might think. According to the Conference of State Bank Supervisors’ Annual Survey of Community Banks, these institutions overwhelmingly identify large banks and other community banks—not credit unions—as their main competitors.
“Yet, despite the data, community bank trade groups continue to push the narrative that credit unions are ‘creeping into their space.’ The facts tell a very different story,” America’s Credit Unions asserted.
“It’s the height of hypocrisy,” said Jim Nussle, ACU president and CEO. “Community banks tell Congress that credit unions are a threat, while telling regulators that they’re not even on their radar. Credit unions don’t compete for profits, they compete for people. They serve Main Street families, small businesses, and rural communities that Wall Street ignores and community banks can’t always reach.”
ACU said the survey results make it clear: credit unions are not the problem.
“The real competition for community banks comes from industry consolidation and the largest financial institutions dominating the marketplace,” the trade group noted.
“What community banks told their regulators: credit unions aren’t their competition,” ACU contended.