Bank Transfer Day on Nov. 5 Looms High

Bank Transfer Day Nov. 5 is tomorrow, and as people across America are preparing to stick it to their financial institutions, bank stocks are taking a huge hit.

The event, named Bank Transfer Day by organizer Kristen Christian of California, and to take place Nov. 5, was created in the wake of a number of bank's ill-timed plans over the last two months to add fees and charges savings, checking and credit card accounts in order to raise new revenues.

Its goal is to get as many people as possible to close their accounts at big banks which many people blame for doing some of the most economic damage in the lead-up to the financial crisis.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) took the most flack for its now-repealed plan to add a $5 per month charge to all debit card accounts, which was announced as the Occupy Wall Street movement reached fever pitch.

BoA's stock had fallen about 4.8 percent between the opening bell Friday and 2:00 p.m. that afternoon, a drop that may in part reflect worries that the Bank Transfer Day scheduled for Nov. 5 will cause a massive exodus from the bank's offerings.

Credit unions have benefited greatly from the wholesale flocking away from major banks in recent months, and will likely do so once again in the wake of Bank Transfer Day on Nov. 5, after which people will likely want to put their money somewhere other than the piggy bank.

Credit unions have brought in about 650,000 new customers since BoA announced its $5 monthly fee on Sept. 29, according to Reuters, and deposits from new customers into the unions rose to $4.5 billion.

As of Friday afternoon, more than 41,000 people liked Bank Transfer Day Nov. 5 on Facebook, up from 36,000 the previous day.

A separate movement called College Bank Transfer Day is urging students and recent graduates to follow the Bank Transfer Day example and move their money out of major bank accounts by Nov. 5.