Move your money

What do you think about this idea?

19 Comments

TimK

about 15 years ago

I moved my money @22 years ago- to a credit union. It just makes sense to put your dough in a credit union or locally owned bank. Believe me, First Bank and Wells-Fargo don't give a rat's ass about you or your community.

Patsy

about 15 years ago

I've moved from one of the big banks to a local bank, and am treated better in every way.  This sort of action is one thing we little people can do to gain control of the banks; don't give them our business and they'll suddenly notice that we matter!

dbb

about 15 years ago

I switched to a local credit union about 10 years ago after being disappointed by wells fargo. The occasional lapse in service is easily offset by the fact I can call a real person and they will make an honest attempt to straighten it out.  

I kept a checking account at wells fargo with the thought that it might be nice to have access to the bank while traveling. So far all it's been good for is a large stack of statements with a balance of $13.31.  That and the satisfaction of making them pay postage every month.

vicarious

about 15 years ago

I recommend North Shore Bank. Friendly, local, convenient.

Bruce

about 15 years ago

Local Credit Union seems good for me.

wildgoose

about 15 years ago

I'm local and have been since I opened my first account at about 16 and decided the big box bank really didn't care about me much.

We have very little money. Is that important? 

Could you explain or provide links, etc about what difference it makes?  I see a teachable moment for all of the back-to-the lander, earth lovers and any hungry?-eat-your-foreign-car lurkers out there, too.

mark

about 15 years ago

Beacon Bank for me 3% interest on my checking account.

TimK

about 15 years ago

Local banks are a good thing when the owners are interested in their own communities. We are lucky that we've got a couple of those in the area. There are, of course, local banks elsewhere that act a little more like Mr. Potter from "It's a Wonderful Life." I personally use Member's Coop Credit Union. One of the reason I like it is that I actually own it. Along with the thousands of other members. The bottom line for the credit union is not just the bottom line (they can't afford to lose money, after all). But their primary motivation is to serve their members. A bank, particularly a chain bank, exists solely to increase the wealth of its owners and stockholders.

Carl

about 15 years ago

This and voting out career politicians.

kokigami

about 15 years ago

I moved from a big bank (don't recall which one.. it is now a Wells Fargo) when I was a kid and they started charging me a monthly fee for the honor of storing my young savings account, as it was too small. Went to St Louis for years, and moved to SCCU when I moved across the bridge.  

They are better, in most every way, but I still find the occasional stupid bank trick. 

But I admit my mortgage is at some unknown bank I met on the internet. Feels a little dirty, but, keeps it exciting..

brian

about 15 years ago

I made the permanent switch to local banks about 15 years ago when I applied for a biz loan from Norwest (now Wells Fargo) in Minneapolis. They declined my loan request, but days later I received a loan or credit card offer in the mail from Norwest for the exact amount I had requested - at 21% interest.

F.U.

Our mortgage did get sold from North Shore to Countrywide, (now at Bank of America). Not sure what you can do about that or if that matters a lot.

jill

about 15 years ago

I think it is Western Bank here in Duluth that will not resell mortgages, the money stays local.

TimK

about 15 years ago

Western Bank was where I originally mortgaged our house. They sold the loan to a North Carolina firm at our closing. Literally sold the loan at the closing. Then, sent us an overdraft notice for $20,000, which was our downpayment. Their reason was that it was the only "form" they had to let us know that we emptied our savings for the downpayment. We didn't actually overdraw anything. I had the $20,000 bounced check form framed and it hangs on the wall in my office. Then, after 2 or 3 mergers, Countrywide ended up owning our mortgage. They invented all these ridiculous fees to increase our monthly payment by about 30%. This was 10 years into a 30-year fixed with a spotless payment history. I went to the Credit Union and re-fied. I shaved a couple of points off of the original loan and went to a 15-year fixed (thus shaving 5 years off of the payoff). My payments now go to a mortgage holder that is a consortium for Credit Unions.

huitz

about 15 years ago

This always sounds vaguely grassroots (local money/whatnot), and nice in that regard, but also somewhat reminiscent of the proverbial chicken that lays golden eggs.  Small banks/credit unions don't have buying power, so their money, though healthy at first, is only protected by a few insurance groups that don't really care about the end client.  This sentiment exists at the large corporate bank also, but just with a much larger buffer.

With that said, I would spread money around as much as you can anyway; mostly for convenience than anything.

I'm no banker, but credit unions very much seem like an illusion of safety... the proverbial unicorn.  Who knows?  That may have changed.

TimK

about 15 years ago

Huitz:  WTF? The FDIC insures your deposits- at credit unions and banks! If you have more than $100,000 personally deposited in one place, then you might want private insurance or to spread your money around to various institutions. The fact of the matter is that banks have failed, but not a single credit union in the United States has ever become insolvent. Credit Unions have sufficient buying power (which really translates into funds to loan) for the community they serve.

zra

about 15 years ago

Tim:

I'd like to point you to the savings and loan debacle that we had in Texas 20 or so years ago:

here:

http://useconomy.about.com/od/grossdomesticproduct/p/89_Bank_Crisis.htm

and here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savings_and_loan_crisis

Very similar to the bank bailout crisis which we have right now. Incidentally, both situations came about during  Republican administrations, and the degree of nepotism and cronyism in both crises is similar.

TimK

about 15 years ago

Yes, savings & loan institutions were deregulated and the ensuing disaster was predictable. Banks were deregulated (repeal of Glass-Steagal) and look what we've got today. Credit Unions are non-profit organizations. What makes them different is that they do not exist to make the corporation or its stock holders wealthy (at any cost). Instead, they provide a service to their members in a very open and transparent process.

TimK

about 15 years ago

Hell, this makes me think you all want to put your money in a mattress!

zra

about 15 years ago

-TK-

Yeah. I just remember the S&L crap being a HUGE mess. I know they operate differently, but the situations are similar.

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