Nussle points out hypocrisy of bank attacks on tax status, mergers
The latest bank attacks on credit unions have a new level of hypocrisy previously unseen in the financial services sector, CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle wrote in Credit Union JournalFriday. Responding to attacks on the tax status and emergency mergers by the big banks, Nussle pointed out the $21 billion windfall banks saw in 2018, and the recently announced merger that would create the sixth largest bank in the country.
Bloomberg reported this week that major U.S. banks saw a $21 billion decrease in their tax bills for 2018 due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
“Big banks didn’t invest that money in their own people. Instead they cut around 4,300 jobs last year. The ratio of bank personnel costs to bank revenue declined, as bank employees helped make more money for shareholders but got a smaller part of it. Banks didn’t invest it into communities. Lending growth was 1.3% slower than the previous year,” Nussle wrote. “The real winner of the bank tax windfall seems to be shareholders who got a $28 billion increase in dividends and stock buybacks in 2018.
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