In Saturday Night Live's classic "lost ending" to "It's a Wonderful Life," George Bailey doesn't just stand by the Christmas tree, grateful to be alive. He rallies a mob, charges over to Potter's house and beats the tar out of the predatory banker. Even 20 years ago, bodyslamming a predatory banker was appealing enough to get a laugh-and to think, it aired in 1986, the year before the savings-and-loan scandal.

Suffice it to say popular sentiment hasn't gotten any better for banks. And now, the people behind Move Your Money are rallying a mob. Instead of pitchforks, they're waving passbooks, advocating that the customers of big banks like Chase, Citi, Bank of America and Wells Fargo take their savings and checking accounts over to smaller community banks and credit unions. The reasons, they say, are obvious: Taxpayers bailed out the big banks, only to have the institutions log record profits, cut lending to small businesses, and lobby against systemic reform. Meanwhile, community banks have been left to wither and die. Move your money, the message goes, and you'll get the warm fuzzy feeling of supporting a local bank and sticking it to the big banks, SNL-style.

The Bailey versus Potter staging isn't my tired metaphor, it's theirs. And I get it: people are angry, which makes it an easy pitch. But in this banking landscape, it doesn't ring true. Sure, close your $5,000 savings account at a bank with $2 trillion in assets. I'm sure they'll miss you.

Worse, the "don't get mad, get even" rhetoric obscures better reasons to consider a local bank or a credit union. Here's a doozy: you might save money. Community banks and credit unions charge lower fees and often pay higher rates on deposits. In a report to Congress (PDF), the Federal Reserve noted that, at banks with more than $1 billion in assets, checking account minimums were $324 higher at than at smaller banks; low-balance fees were 50 percent higher; overdraft fees were 34 percent higher. Same goes for credit unions, which are similar to community banks, except they're non-profits, which they say means they can pass more of their revenue along in the form of better pricing. One study suggests that credit union customers with smaller accounts save $140 per year on checking account fees. (Credit union critics note they're not insured by the FDIC, though they do have another, similar kind of insurance on deposits.)

If the rates aren't enough, there are other reasons to consider a local bank or a credit union. For one thing, your money is more likely to support small businesses in your community. Small banks hold about 12 percent of banking assets, but they make 35 percent of the loans to small businesses. The story's the same at credit unions, which keep their services — and their business model — pretty simple. Not only that, but there is some evidence that while a big bank might not shed tears at your defection, they do notice when they're competing with local banks. One study showed that when local banks and credit unions are present, big banks sweeten their offers.

So why don't more people look into using a local bank or a credit union? "They're terrible marketers," says George Hofheimer, the head of research at Filene Research Insitute, a Wisconsin think tank that studies credit unions. There's more: most smaller banks and credit unions don't have the web presence that bigger banks do, and though many have well-developed ATM networks, if you need to actually go to the bank, the hours and locations can be less than convenient. The smaller, scarier risk for consumers is that these banks, by definition, are not too big to fail, and many of them have.

That's the trade-off. Less convenience for better rates and the chance to support local businesses. In a way, it's even better than storming the Potter mansion.

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