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Consumers tired of big-bank bailouts and bonuses are being urged to vote with their wallets by moving their money to smaller community banks.  Thanks to a virtual movement called “Move Your Money,” consumers now have an easier way to research alternatives, such as smaller banks located in a zip code near them. 
Powered by a search tool developed by Institutional Risk Analytics (IRA), users simply enter a zip code, press submit, and presto, they are served up a listing of local banks with an IRA rating of B or better.

The brainchild of digital pundit Arianna Huffington, , Move Your Money was hatched over a dinner conversation, and quickly went viral in a matter of days in late December.  A month later, the movement has racked up huge site traffic and page views, twice as high in US site traffic ratings compared to MorganStanley, a bank on Arianna’s big-bank hit list). Plus, the movement garnered:

• More than 438,996 video views on YouTube by late January (up from 100,000 in early January)
• More than 284,800 Facebook fans (compared to 2,500 in early January)
• National media buzz and coverage (rivaling that of the run-up to Apple’s iPad announcement this week)

Putting buzz aside, time and FDIC deposit market share reports will tell if this movement is simply a flash in the social media pan, or if consumers are actually moving their bank accounts in response to negative sentiment about big bank bailouts.

Meanwhile, one poll suggests this movement has significant momentum.

American Banker (registration required) recently reported about a poll it ran on its Web site: “39% of respondents said the reputations of big banks have been hurt enough to drive customers elsewhere. Only 24% agreed that inertia would be a powerful enough force to keep big banks’ customers where they are. The survey results are unscientific, but they indicate that consumer frustration is palpable.”

Thanks to the power of social media, that frustration has gone from zero to viral. And that alone should be a wake up call to management teams at banks regardless of asset size.