and I believe whole-heartedly in credit unions. As a rule, these institutions practice excellent customer service. Plus, most of them didn’t get mixed up the sub-prime debacle." Similarly, Suze Orman was quoted in 2009 characterizing large banks as often doing "anything to increase earnings and profits" for shareholders, while credit unions, accountable to their members, are more typically "ethical and honest". In August 2011, Clark Howard advised his readers to be wary of "giant, monster megabanks" and to seek better interest rates and customer service at smaller banks or credit unions. Credit unions realize increased deposits The Credit Union National Association (CUNA) said the association's web site aimed at informing customers about credit union services has seen traffic double. CUNA members reported an increase in account openings. According to Bill Cheney, CUNA's president and chief executive officer, the current surge in account openings has been more sustained than similar surges in the past. Between September 29, the day that Bank of America announced its (now defunct) monthly fee for debit card transactions, and November 2, credit unions received $4.5 billion in funds and 440,000 new customers, which equated to a 50% increase in new accounts. CUNA claimed that on November 5, 2011 alone, approximately 40,000 people joined credit unions, with credit unions realizing $80 million in new account funds. In a December newsletter, CUNA estimated that nearly 700,000 consumers had opened new accounts at credit unions between late September and the November 5 target date, although an article published in American Banker in early December cites CUNA as offering a revised estimate of 214,000 new customers in October. Small banks and credit unions with assets valued at less than $10 billion can afford to offer extra rewards and avoid imposing additional fees, as they are exempt from the caps imposed by the Durbin Amendment. Background The planned debit transaction fee increase is reportedly caused by the Durbin Amendment that went into effect on October 1, which is an addition to the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a U.S. federal statute The Durbin Amendment limits the fees that banks can charge merchants when a consumer swipes their debit card from 44 cents to 24 cents. According to experts, a customer making 25 debit card transactions a month would lead the bank to lose $5 it would have made before the Durbin Amendment. As a result, it has been