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Race of the Conglomerates
In a late Thursday night deal brokered by the FDIC, Chase has taken over Washington Mutual's banking operations for $1.9 billion. Not to fear though, according to the FDIC, business will continue as usual for customers come Friday morning. WaMu's shares have plummeted 90% in the last year due to concerns over their large portfolio in subprime loans.
The FDIC said that taking on the WaMu banking operations, like they did for IndyMac Bank, would have placed a serious strain on an already struggling insurance fund. But letting Washington Mutual fall under wasn't an option, as doing so would result in disaster. If WaMu had gone under, it would have dwarfed the largest bank failure in U.S. history - Continental Illinois National Bank in 1984 held assets of $33.6 billion. To compare, WaMu had assets over $309 billion at the end of last quarter.
So, those of you banking with WaMu, what changes have you experienced? Are you concerned about this takeover, or do you feel confident that Chase can handle the business? Are you concerned that Chase and Bank of America are closing in on the competition? [USA Today]
Local banks. Lower fees. The one time a "big national" waved a fee for me didn't quite make up for the time years ago when they stuck it to me fee-wise.
Local banking is a good option but watch how much you have over 100k. If you have under 100k in normal accounts, that is savings or checking you should be safe at any bank because it is insured by the FDIC.
Bank local. There's absolutely no advantage whatsoever to banking with a big chain bank unless you're a corporation. Local banks are much more attuned to taking care of regular folks and small businesses.
I've noticed a lot of people dislike BofA. Why is that? It makes me nervous but they haven't done anything to me so far...(knock on wood).
I'm a WaMu customer. I hear there is no change. I haven't been to the bank, but I'm going to assume all is well. I'm not a huge fan of Chase (they nickle and dime you with fees) and BofA is my least favorite. Evil is the word, I think, so I'm going to have to go bank shopping. I dread changing everything over, but it has to be done!