theBlackman on 5/7/2008 at 05:53
At the "Left Bank Of Jordan", of course. :ebil:
Thief13x on 5/7/2008 at 07:51
not really feeling the 6 - 10k word read but I also have bank of america and am very satisfied (except for their bs (overdraft protection program) which charges a $10 fee per overdraft anyway:mad:
theBlackman on 5/7/2008 at 08:01
If you are serious about finding a good bank and interest checking etc. checkout (
www.fatwallet.com) a site with lots of financial information from people actually using the various institutions and investment firms.
paloalto90 on 5/7/2008 at 08:59
A letter by one woman as for her reasons to go local.
MY LETTER TO THE BANK OF AMERICA
Dear Branch Manager,
I would like to express my appreciation for your banking services. I have been a customer of Bank of America since May 1998. For most of this time, my home branch has been in _____, though I originally opened my four accounts in ______. Since living in _____, I have had the pleasure of being served by very kind and helpful tellers. Of note, I received superior service by _____, _____, _____, and _____ and have appreciated all their effort and friendliness. I have valued your banking products and services, especially the flexibility and convenience of online banking and the customer service phone line. I have had both my personal and business checking accounts with you, plus two savings accounts, and have rented a safety deposit box as well. The ministry I was formerly a part of opened up two checking accounts at Bank of America on my recommendation. Overall, with only some minor problems and frustrations regarding the ministry accounts, your customer support has been in the range I would call "superior."
So why would I choose to leave?
In recent years, I have become increasingly alarmed at the growing corruption in the financial system in this country. Responsible research that is easily verifiable by anyone who chooses to investigate will, I believe, reveal the following concerns:
The U.S. banking and financial system is the global leader in money laundering of organized crime financial flows;
The U.S. government, with the New York Federal Reserve as depository, is missing over $4 trillion between fiscal years 1998-2001;
Large banks are fraudulently inducing students and working people to assume debt they can not afford to repay;
Large banks are incurring greater risks, impacting depositors, borrowers and citizens, including the risks of derivatives and speculation;
Enron-style offshore and off-balance sheet deals engineered by large banks are draining our job base and skimming our pension funds; and
American households are experiencing record deficits while America’s largest banks are enjoying record profits.
As private banks and their investors increasingly control our government bank accounts and financial policies, it falls to the private citizen and private markets to assume greater responsibility for ensuring that our financial system operates on an ethical and lawful basis.
An important step private citizens can take is to decentralize our banking deposits and banking system away from large centrally controlled banks.
Consequently, I have made a decision to ‘vote with my money" by switching my banking business to Tamalpais Bank, a beautiful, very well-managed, locally owned, financially sound bank here in Marin County that is committed to community action on a number of fronts and supporting the local economy in innovative ways. Accordingly, I request that you close the following accounts as of the date of this letter:
(All four accounts listed)
To answer any questions you and your staff may have regarding my decision to "vote" with my bank deposits, I have enclosed a copy of "Where Would Jesus Bank (and other good folks too)?"—a Solari, Inc. audio seminar by Catherine Austin Fitts, a former managing director and member of the board of Dillon Read & Co., Inc (now part of UBS) and Assistant Secretary of Housing in the first Bush administration.
My very best wishes to you and your staff, and again I thank you.
Sincerely yours,
In short banking at local banks will keep money in your local community.
Aerothorn on 8/7/2008 at 02:42
Both my banks are local, sorta. Washington Mutual is what I use in Seattle (it USED to be local), and they're cool - folks are always friendly, it's 100% free. In Massachusetts I use a little independent bank called the Easthampton Savings Bank which is very nice - again, totally free, and with really good interest.
the_grip on 9/7/2008 at 03:31
Dude if you think local banks are immune to the problems that larger banks are facing then you're smoking crack.
Look at the BKX index (basically regional banks). That sucker is at some serious lows:
http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=$BKX&p=M&yr=10&mn=11&dy=30&id=p70010586674
(Hope you can see that... StockCharts can be weird on their links)
Everyone tried their hand at the bad debt. Big old game of hot potato.
The only things i think you need be concerned with re:banks is this:
1. Are they insured? FDIC will cover your regional banks. If you use a brokerage to hold money or a money market, just be sure that it is insured.
2. Are the fees you will face manageable or existent?
3. Is the customer service good?
4. Are the tellers hot busty women?
That's it, at least in my book.
paloalto90 on 9/7/2008 at 04:01
My concern is not so much for the performance of the bank although it is part of the calculation.
There are two schools of thought as far as banking goes.Decentralization and strengthening local banks and communities and consolidation making the big boys even bigger.
I want to be part of the former and learning how to raise local capital for business adventures
The measure of the health of a community can be tied to the popsicle index.
Meaning what percentage of people in a community think that a little child can walk to the store buy a popsicle and come home safely.
Obviously if you have drugs running in your community yor PI would be lower than others.
The willingness to invest in said community is based partly upon how safe people feel in their own community.Higher PI,higher possibility of investment.
the_grip on 9/7/2008 at 04:04
True dat. i'm with ya on some of that. And i do use a local bank in our area... pretty good little bank, very friendly, and no fees. Their offerings in terms of short term CDs and stuff is generally decent, but i don't do much of that.
Mortal Monkey on 9/7/2008 at 10:15
Where would Jesus bank? Why, he'd give his money to the poor.
