To the editor:

Boycott the big banks. Move your money.

Speaking as one who has done it, I can tell you that, although it isn’t easy, it absolutely can be done, and it is something that anybody with a bank account can do.

If enough of us do it nationwide, it will definitely have an impact — in starving the big banks and in boosting our local economies. Not every day do we have a chance to do something with as much political leverage that is also cheap, safe and legal.

It will take time, patience and persistence to disentangle the tentacles that tether us to Citibank, Chase Bank, Bank of America, et. al., and we may not succeed in freeing ourselves completely. There will be automatic transfers to be dealt with, loan payments that may have to be renegotiated elsewhere and who knows what else?

The process will take time and effort, more for some than for others, depending on how complicated our financial affairs are, but the results will be gratifying.

You will like working with local people who you can actually sit down and have a conversation with. Some local banks are dog- friendly and even stock dog biscuits.

How to choose a local bank that you want to work with? Here are some questions that you might like to ask:

— Where are the mortgages serviced? In Delaware, or Bangladesh? Or here at home?

— Do they reinvest in the local community? What have they done lately?

— Are the employees encouraged to do local volunteer work?

— Do they have the products and services that you need?

— What are their service charges? Are they a healthy bank? They will have a rating at www.depositaccounts.com/banks/health.aspx.

Betty King,
Woolwich

[email protected]