Bank Vibe
I was just depositing some cash into a Washington Mutual account an hour ago, and the atmosphere was unmistakably edgy. A long line of people, anxious looks on some of the faces, a vaguely nervous undercurrent of one form or another. Washington Mutual went under a few days ago and was bought up by JP Morgan Chase on 9.26. There was a fat guy jabbering excitedly to a friend and making no attempt to hide his anger at bank employees behind the glass who were sitting at desks and not at teller windows. The vibe was on the sullen side. No jokes, no smiles, no chit-chat.
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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on September 29, 2008 at 5:35 PM
comment #1
sugar3
says ...
Sounds like Buenos Aires circa 2003.
Posted by sugar3
at September 29, 2008 5:50 PM
comment #2
Gordie Lachance
says ...
The recreational conspiracy theorist in me believes that this is all part of a natural cycle designed to consolidate the global economy down to about 3 or 4 corporations by the end of this century.
But people say I'm cynical, so who knows.
Posted by Gordie Lachance
at September 29, 2008 5:55 PM
comment #3
Craptastic
says ...
Things are getting so bad that over the weekend I was strolling down Larchmont and saw Wells Fargo employees outside their branch offering free DVD players and other items for new customers. No joke.
Posted by Craptastic
at September 29, 2008 6:00 PM
comment #4
corey3rd
says ...
Blu-ray gets my business
Posted by corey3rd
at September 29, 2008 6:27 PM
comment #5
moviesquad
says ...
Wow, I thought only "low-information" types still had accounts at Washington Mutual seeing as the writing has been on the wall for that one for over a year.
Posted by moviesquad
at September 29, 2008 8:16 PM
comment #6
Cadavra
says ...
And where would we move our money? UBS? Wachovia? What bank IS safe?
Posted by Cadavra
at September 29, 2008 9:31 PM
comment #7
PastePotPete
says ...
I use community credit unions, they just seem more low key and self-sustaining.
Posted by PastePotPete
at September 29, 2008 10:05 PM
comment #8
buckzollo
says ...
seem is a relative term these days
Posted by buckzollo
at September 29, 2008 10:26 PM
comment #9
Jay T.
says ...
Wells Fargo is safe... they actually posted a profit last quarter.
Posted by Jay T.
at September 29, 2008 10:38 PM
comment #10
dangovich
says ...
Calm down people. As 9/11 proved, panic only empowers them.
Posted by dangovich
at September 29, 2008 10:51 PM
comment #11
MeandMyselfandI
says ...
The FDIC insures your deposit up to $100,000. There is no need to go spastic unless you have deposited more than that in any one account.
Posted by MeandMyselfandI
at September 30, 2008 12:46 AM
comment #12
AH
says ...
The good news is that, as of now, the overseas markets aren't crashing as badly expected.
Posted by AH
at September 30, 2008 1:42 AM
comment #13
Gordie Lachance
says ...
Yes, the FDIC insures bank accounts up to 100,000 dollars.
However, they only actually have funds to cover about one half of one percent of America's personal bank accounts, so 'insurance' is also a relative term here.
Posted by Gordie Lachance
at September 30, 2008 3:43 AM
comment #14
BurmaShave
says ...
Advise from a conservative friend yesterday, in earnest, passed on from his Freeper friends no doubt: Time to buy gold and guns.
Posted by BurmaShave
at September 30, 2008 6:18 AM
comment #15
dinther
says ...
"Yes, the FDIC insures bank accounts up to 100,000 dollars.
However, they only actually have funds to cover about one half of one percent of America's personal bank accounts, so 'insurance' is also a relative term here."
Gordie, I'm not sure where you're getting your information. The FDIC is funded by its member institutions; even under the unlikely scenario that its fund were depleted, it is fully backed by the United States Treasury. There is no plausible, real-world scenario wherein someone would lose money put into a bank.
People who have accounts of less than 100K who are taking their money out of banks are not being very prudent.
Posted by dinther
at September 30, 2008 6:40 AM
comment #16
Michael
says ...
@ BurmaShave
Sounds like a bottom to me. Go long.
Posted by Michael
at September 30, 2008 6:54 AM
comment #17
Krazy Eyes
says ...
If you're concerned about the stability of your bank -- start withdrawing the funds a little bit at a time and dollar cost average your way into a diversified portfolio of funds and stocks. Market crashes are a great time if you're a buyer. They're only bad for the sellers.
Plus, you can look at the bright side. If the markets continue to tank you'll have 1000s & 1000s of near-worthless shares while others will only have 100s even though you both made the same $$$ investment. you might not see your riches for a decade or two but your kids will love you for it.
Posted by Krazy Eyes
at September 30, 2008 7:12 AM
comment #18
whirlofagirl
says ...
Have you ever been stuck in Wamu's voicemail hell? My card didn't work Wednesday night as I tried to pay for parking. Didn't think anything of it. It then didn't work Thursday evening. I got worried, was put on hold for 15 minutes, afterward being told everything was okay. My stomach became queasy when I heard that Wamu got bought out the next morning. Luckily my $$ was still in there. Not sure for how much longer.
Posted by whirlofagirl
at September 30, 2008 8:06 AM
comment #19
janee
says ...
Si vous etes interesses par le dossier, ou desirez en savoir plus, contactez-moi par mail, et je vous mettrai en contact.
Best regards,Jane, CEO of high availability failover
Posted by janee
at May 18, 2011 4:24 AM