Bank for America
April 20, 2012 3:53 PM Subscribe
And when the day comes that you, the American taxpayer, own this Bank, you will be ready to make it a Bank for America—one that brings benefits not to the privileged only, but to all of our customers, and to all of our stakeholders too.
credit unions wotta a joke, get a bank of america savings account today and enjoy 1% annual interest for the first six months
posted by TwelveTwo at 4:10 PM on April 20, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by TwelveTwo at 4:10 PM on April 20, 2012 [1 favorite]
They're called credit unions.
With all due respect let's be serious. If you dangle a big enough demutulization windfall in front of a credit union's membership they'll fall over themselves trying to approve it as quickly as possible. Serving the community? Wall Street's going to give us all four figures for our shitty savings accounts!
Want to make some easy money over the next 20 years? Rack up as many cheap CU accounts as you can lay your hands on. Especially the medium sized ones. They'll probably demutualize eventually and when that happens: KA-CHING!
posted by Talez at 4:44 PM on April 20, 2012 [1 favorite]
With all due respect let's be serious. If you dangle a big enough demutulization windfall in front of a credit union's membership they'll fall over themselves trying to approve it as quickly as possible. Serving the community? Wall Street's going to give us all four figures for our shitty savings accounts!
Want to make some easy money over the next 20 years? Rack up as many cheap CU accounts as you can lay your hands on. Especially the medium sized ones. They'll probably demutualize eventually and when that happens: KA-CHING!
posted by Talez at 4:44 PM on April 20, 2012 [1 favorite]
Sure, Talez, and then I'll just move my money over to some other credit union.
posted by Mars Saxman at 5:07 PM on April 20, 2012
posted by Mars Saxman at 5:07 PM on April 20, 2012
Talez: "With all due respect let's be serious. If you dangle a big enough demutulization windfall in front of a credit union's membership they'll fall over themselves trying to approve it as quickly as possible. Serving the community? Wall Street's going to give us all four figures for our shitty savings accounts!"
My credit union is based in the People's Republic of Eugene, Oregon. Good luck with that one.
posted by mullingitover at 5:16 PM on April 20, 2012 [5 favorites]
My credit union is based in the People's Republic of Eugene, Oregon. Good luck with that one.
posted by mullingitover at 5:16 PM on April 20, 2012 [5 favorites]
Q: Why isn't there an REI of credit unions? The closest would be USAA, I guess, but joining isn't possible for everyone .
Why do I suspect that for-profit banks are the reason for this?
posted by leotrotsky at 5:27 PM on April 20, 2012
Why do I suspect that for-profit banks are the reason for this?
posted by leotrotsky at 5:27 PM on April 20, 2012
leotrotsky: "Q: Why isn't there an REI of credit unions? The closest would be USAA, I guess, but joining isn't possible for everyone ."
All the credit unions together are the REI of credit unions. You can use shared branches such that if you're a member of one credit union, you're a member of practically all of them.
posted by mullingitover at 5:32 PM on April 20, 2012
All the credit unions together are the REI of credit unions. You can use shared branches such that if you're a member of one credit union, you're a member of practically all of them.
posted by mullingitover at 5:32 PM on April 20, 2012
Lmfao if yr not keeping your money in the freezer.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 6:07 PM on April 20, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Potomac Avenue at 6:07 PM on April 20, 2012 [1 favorite]
Q: Why isn't there an REI of credit unions? The closest would be USAA, I guess, but joining isn't possible for everyone .
Some services and features require a military connection (e.g. depositing checks via smartphone, auto and property insurance, mortgages, car loans), but USAA doesn't have restrictions on regular banking services (e.g. checking and savings accounts), credit cards, and life insurance. See here under "other individuals."
I completed my banking switchover from Bank of America to USAA earlier this year after a year-long transition period and couldn't be happier. The day BoA finally fails I may die of schadenfreude.
posted by jedicus at 7:16 PM on April 20, 2012
Some services and features require a military connection (e.g. depositing checks via smartphone, auto and property insurance, mortgages, car loans), but USAA doesn't have restrictions on regular banking services (e.g. checking and savings accounts), credit cards, and life insurance. See here under "other individuals."
I completed my banking switchover from Bank of America to USAA earlier this year after a year-long transition period and couldn't be happier. The day BoA finally fails I may die of schadenfreude.
posted by jedicus at 7:16 PM on April 20, 2012
In my lifetime: four banks. All sucked. Two credit unions. Both rock (I still have accounts in both.) You can't pay me to go back.
posted by davejay at 8:00 PM on April 20, 2012
posted by davejay at 8:00 PM on April 20, 2012
Important note, if you care: The banking arm of USAA is not a credit union. Banking services are provided by USAA Federal Savings Bank and, like all other banks, it does not have members, just account holders. To be a member of USAA means that you are an insured who receives a policy through the United Services Automobile Association, an unincorporated insurance exchange governed by the Texas Insurance Code. The USAA insurance association owns USAA FSB but the two are not the same legal entity. This is why people who do not meet the membership requirements to buy USAA insurance can still buy banking services from USAA FSB (the latter being opened to all comers by a decision of the owners of the former).
To further continue the mild derail: If you receive insurance through USAA because you are a child or other relative of an eligible member, you are not a member-owner of USAA-the-insurance-association. You are an "associate member" and receive a policy through USAA-the-insurance-corporation, incorporated in Delaware, or through USAA-the-insurance-corporation's County Mutual arm. When I had USAA insurance by virtue of my father's military service, I had a County Mutual policy.
posted by fireoyster at 1:37 AM on April 21, 2012 [3 favorites]
To further continue the mild derail: If you receive insurance through USAA because you are a child or other relative of an eligible member, you are not a member-owner of USAA-the-insurance-association. You are an "associate member" and receive a policy through USAA-the-insurance-corporation, incorporated in Delaware, or through USAA-the-insurance-corporation's County Mutual arm. When I had USAA insurance by virtue of my father's military service, I had a County Mutual policy.
posted by fireoyster at 1:37 AM on April 21, 2012 [3 favorites]
depositing checks via smartphone
I didn't realize this until after I had switched from BoA to USAA. If I had know prior to switching I would have stayed at BoA, as even in the DC area there's only one physical USAA ATM that I have access to where I can deposit checks and even that machine is 20 minutes away. It's really inconvenient - I still get enough paper checks to make ready access to a physical ATM where I can deposit them pretty essential. So I'm looking for another bank that isn't as awful as BoA, but which has more locations in my area (NoVA and DC).
posted by longdaysjourney at 12:22 PM on April 21, 2012
I didn't realize this until after I had switched from BoA to USAA. If I had know prior to switching I would have stayed at BoA, as even in the DC area there's only one physical USAA ATM that I have access to where I can deposit checks and even that machine is 20 minutes away. It's really inconvenient - I still get enough paper checks to make ready access to a physical ATM where I can deposit them pretty essential. So I'm looking for another bank that isn't as awful as BoA, but which has more locations in my area (NoVA and DC).
posted by longdaysjourney at 12:22 PM on April 21, 2012
With all due respect let's be serious. If you dangle a big enough demutulization windfall in front of a credit union's membership they'll fall over themselves trying to approve it as quickly as possible.*Shrug*. It still needs to be financially profitable for "Wall Street" to actually buy them out, and at least the customers get the money, rather then random other rich bankers who just happen to own their old bank.
Laws that made it easier to transfer accounts (you should be able too, for example, push a button to transfer all your automatic bill payments from one bank to another) and there wouldn't be much reason to try to buy out credit unions since their members could just leave if things got annoying.
posted by delmoi at 3:43 PM on April 21, 2012
If I had know prior to switching I would have stayed at BoA, as even in the DC area there's only one physical USAA ATM that I have access to where I can deposit checks and even that machine is 20 minutes away.
You can also deposit checks at most UPS Stores, which is what I do.
posted by jedicus at 5:56 AM on April 25, 2012
You can also deposit checks at most UPS Stores, which is what I do.
posted by jedicus at 5:56 AM on April 25, 2012
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posted by leotrotsky at 3:59 PM on April 20, 2012 [5 favorites]