Banks Fight Credit Unions for Free Rent on U.S. Military Bases

Regional commercial banks like Kansas City-based UMB Financial Corp., already losing business on military bases, want to gain access to the free rent their credit-union competitors enjoy.

Credit unions want none of it. Any benefits given to the banks, they argue, would ultimately open up the floodgates for such giants as Wells Fargo & Co. and Bank of America Corp. to harvest business from troops and their families.

The battle is being joined over a provision in the Senate’s 2020 defense authorization measure (S. 1790) that would require the Defense Department to treat credit unions and banks equally when deciding ...