FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   

Contact: Kim Kellogg/Mara Tyler
Fri., Jan. 15, 2010          
510-635-4150 (office)
510-325-3195 (mobile)

MEDIA ALERT
    Consumers Will Pay Price for Proposed Tax on Big Banks for Bailout Losses:  Economist Mike Moebs Available for Comment as of Fri., Jan 15, 2010

Economist and CEO Mike Moebs of Moebs Services (ww.moebs.com), an independent economic research firm in the Chicago area, can speak in depth and in detail about the likely impact on consumers of the government’s proposed tax on the nation’s 50 biggest banks in an effort to repay the US taxpayers for bailout-related losses. He believes the cost of this proposed government action, announced Thurs., Jan. 14, will be borne by American citizens.

Moebs’ firm has a national reputation for the pricing and fee data he has been collecting from large and small banks for more than 20 years.  Mike can offer insights and viewpoints about the impact on consumers of the proposed bank tax and provide useful statistics about Wall Street and Main Street banks.  Among the points Mike can discuss are these:

• Wall Street banks (big banks with more than $50B in assets) have about 44 percent of consumer checking accounts in the US.
• Big banks won’t suffer reduced profits, but will raise prices on products and services to pay for the tax.
• Big banks  (more than $50B in assets) are Too Big To Fail (TBTF)– this means their long- term average cost of operations exceeds their optimal level of operations. 
• The government saves banks that are TBTF to avoid economic and social chaos but the cost of such intervention has to be borne by US consumers.
• The “Double Whammy” – US citizens are getting the double whammy. They paid for the big bank bailout as taxpayers and now will pay higher prices for products and services at big banks to cover the tax banks will pay if this proposal passes.
• Pricing differences exist between Wall Street and community banks and more consumers are seeking out these Main Street banks.

Mike is immediately available for telephone interviews and understands reporter’s time constraints and deadlines.

To set up an interview, please call Kim Kellogg or Mara Tyler at 510-635-4150 (office) or 510-325-3195 (cell).