If you are with a big bank did you originally open your account with them or was your bank bought?

[Quixote1818]

I was just thinking that I was with two small hometown banks before Bank of America bought my bank, which I remember being pissed off about in the first place. Just wondering how many others this happened to? Also, do you have plans to leave your big bank now or have you already?

On Edit: I just remembered the name of my first bank was Sunwest Bank. Can't remember who bought them and was later bought
by B of A.

[monmouth]

1. I ws with Wachovia then Wells Fargo bought them. Prior to that

w/Washington Mutual, I moved they had no branches near me..voila. I'm looking at credit unions...

[meow2u3]

6. Same here

Wells Fargo bought out Wachovia. I found a credit union and planning on gradually moving my money there.

[caledesi]

35. Same here Wachovia to Wells Fargo. n/t

[Blue_In_AK]

2. I used to do some banking with National Bank of Alaska,

a local, albeit large, state bank. When they were bought out by Wells Fargo I moved my money to a credit union and have been there ever since. Many years.

[blaze]

8. Totally off topic...

but I just recently cruised (via Lindblad) your coastline. Alaska is an amazing place!!!

[Blue_In_AK]

16. Yes, it is.

That's why I've stayed here for going on 37 years now. I don't mind going Outside to visit, but it's always so nice to get home. Were you cruising the Inside Passage? It's gorgeous down there.

[blaze]

25. Yes! Inside Passage.

I was totally blown away. The staff (0n our ship) was incredibly well informed.. and the country side spoke for itself.

Given the opportunity, I would happily retire to.... well, my first choice would be Elfin Cove!

[Blue_In_AK]

32. We're planning to fly down to Sitka in the spring

and maybe do a little ferrying around while we're down there. I love that part of the state.

[blaze]

37. Temperate RainForests.

That was an education.


http://www.google.com/search?q=temperate+rain+forest&hl=en&biw=1280&bih=651&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=UXubTr3JCuLmiAL3oO3UAg&sqi=2&ved=0CFsQsAQ#hl=en&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=h3ubTvy6KMfJiQKy3fm6DQ&ved=0CD0QBSgA&q=temperate+rainforest&spell=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.,cf.osb&fp=c1044a09798d41a2&biw=1280&bih=651

[Bandit]

71. I lived in Elfin Cove for over twenty years

I understand how you feel.. I now live in Juneau but it is not a bad place to live either...

[roguevalley]

66. i remember that. no one was happy here

[NMMNG]

3. I opened my account at WaMu

Then WaMu was bought out by Chase. I'm leaving for a credit union. I've been planning to for a while thanks to the fees Chase keeps piling on.

[NutmegYankee]

4. First union -> Wachovia -> Wells Fargo.

And I'm already half into a credit union. Wells Fargo has begun testing debit fees in a few states and I have no plan to stick around for those fees to arrive.

[MountainLaurel]

9. Same for Mr. Laurel

[Chipper Chat]

34. Peru Trust > Lincoln National > Norwest > Wells Fargo

I think I forgot one somewhere in there. Makes your head spin!

[FarCenter]

44. First Union acquired Wachovia, but kept the Wachovia name

Wachovia is an unusual name, but I guess they liked it better than one with "union" in it.

Anyway, that was just a renaming of your account.

[NutmegYankee]

52. Wachovia was a better known name.

Nonetheless, my account went through two mergers, which was the point.

[mwooldri]

78. IIRC, Wachovia as a name had a better reputation than First Onion.

Wachovia *was* a well run, relatively nice regional bank. But then banks got into a merger spree and there was a fight with Suntrust and First Union over Wachovia.

[Denninmi]

5. Bought.

My original bank was a local, community bank with under 10 branches. It was bought out in the 1980s by a state bank with probably 100 branches. That was sold to a regional bank with a few hundred branches in MI, OH, IN in the 1990s. That bank was bought out by a large national bank in the early part of the last decade, which was one of the banks that got in some trouble during the financial crisis in 2008/2009, and last year it was sold to a national bank.

[RebelOne]

7. I am with Bank of America.

My original account was with Barnett Bank, then it was bought by another bank (don't remember which one as it was so long ago), and then Bank of America bought them. So, I have been with Bank of America for over 15 years. I do not plan to leave Bank of America at this time. I have my checking and savings with them. And all deposits are by direct deposit and all bill payments are automatic withdrawal. It would be too much of a hassle to switch banks and and transfer all those accounts. I have read that if you keep $5,000 in your checking account, you will not be charged the $5 debit card fee. So, I will just transfer a few thousand from my savings into my checking.

[abelenkpe]

24. Know you can do all of those same things with a credit union

[Ruby the Liberal]

30. Ask them first

It is usually "amount with the bank", not necessarily in one account. They will add up CDs, savings, checking, money market etc to determine what they call your "relationship" with them.

A note on transferring banks, it is nothing compared to years ago. Make a list of auto incoming and outgoing and change your bank information via their websites or phones. Just keep enough to cover a month for an extra month to be on the safe side. I have 3 deposits and 27 bill pay/auto withdrawals and it took me less than an hour to make the switch with the exception of my electric, who needed it in writing.

[uncle ray]

36. it's really not that much effort to change, you just choose not to do it.

[RebelOne]

53. Right now, I choose not to. n/t

[ohheckyeah]

68. How do you know how much effort it is for someone else?

Do you know how many direct deposits have to be changed and how easily those can be screwed up? Or how many scheduled payments a person has? Or how many accounts would have to be moved?

I've had direct deposits screwed up when I changed banks before, and right now I can't afford a screw up so I choose not to move my money. Sorry if that offends you. (Not really).

[FarCenter]

46. Barnett Bank was bought by Nations Bank, Bank of America was bought by Nations Bank

Nations Bank bought Bank of America, but kept the Bank of America name.

Bank of America was the creation of Hugh McColl, Jr, head of NCNB (North Carolina National Bank of Charlotte, NC), who through a series of mergers created the Bank of America that is headquartered in Charlotte.

[EdMaven]

10. i changed to a credit union when seafirst was bought by BOA in 1983.

i had been a customer since opening a savings account for my babysitting money. which was in the 60s.

[warrior1]

11. BofA bought it then

froze my HELOC.

I just was able to move my loan to a credit union. The fuckers at BofA said after the froze me out of my 2nd was because the value of my home dropped. When I refi'd my home had NOT lost value. Mother fucker liars are the BofA.

[annabanana]

12. MidLantic > Westminster > B of fuckin' A. .

(Am currently moving over to CU)

[valerief]

13. I was with BayBanks then Shawmut bought them then Fleet bought them then Bank of Boston bought them

then Bank of America bought them. I left for a couple credit unions.

[Initech]

14. I was with a local bank called First Interstate, then they got bought by Wells Fargo.

Now I'm looking for ways to opt out of Wells Fargo in favor of joining a credit union.

[MADem]

15. I have a TD bank account that started out as in a podunk local bank in a resort town

I put half my relatives on the account, just so they could have a place to go cash a check, back in the day when that was what people did when they needed money. They still use it for that purpose every now and again.

I do my "real" banking at a credit union.

[Doremus]

17. Opened account with National City which was gifted to PNC.

Getting ready to switch to Best Reward Credit Union and be done with the fatcats.

[FarCenter]

48. National City would have failed if it had not found a merger partner

They made a huge bet on subprime mortgages after buying Franklin Mortgage in '99. Subsequently they moved into the Florida mortgage market just at the top of the real estate boom.

They were one step from being dissolved by the FDIC.

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

PS, they were also not a small bank, they were one of the larger regional banks.

[Doremus]

61. And their request for TARP funds was different from all the others that were approved....how?

NCB requested TARP funds like how many other banks was it again? Except they were declined and the TARP money was gifted to PNC instead, along with NCB on a silver platter.

We still feel the loss of those hundreds of decent Cleveland area jobs, so I'm well aware of NCB's size.

[kestrel91316]

18. Sanwa > United California > Bank of the West. Seamless mergers,

and my bank is STILL one of the smaller ones.

[Amaril]

19. I intentionally opened an account with Chase

because that's who the last company I was working for banked with. They couldn't do direct deposit for me (I was a 1099 employee), but they were able to do a wire transfer from their account to mine. By opening an account with their bank, it would get credited to my account from their's the same day.

I'm no longer working for them (contract ended 7/31) -- just closed my account with Chase last Wednesday. I now bank with a local credit union. :)

[boston bean]

20. I started off as some small bank I can't remember the name of.... maybe Summit.....

then it turned into Bay Bank, then Fleet, then Bank of Boston, then the ugly monster BofA.

I will be leaving BofA and moving over to a credit union down the street as soon as I can.

I have a lot of auto pay's that I need to take care of.

[Raine]

21. Had an account at World, it became Wachovia, then it became

Well's Fargo. I also have an account at USBank but before that it was Downey. I may change but right now these accounts are CDs and I will be penalized if I take the money out.

[randome]

22. Define 'Big'.

[lbrtbell]

23. Bank was bought...twice.

It was a local bank, bought by Bank One, which was then bought by Chase.

Bank One was the best, by far.

[sarcasmo]

26. True, no problems then Chase bought Bank One and instant problems.

[FarCenter]

50. The Chase retail operation is the Bank One operation run out of Columbus

Chase's retail operation, which was the result of the merger of Manufacturer's Hanover, Chemical Bank, and Chase Manhattan was smaller than Bank One's and located in the New York area. The Chase retail operation in NY was mainly shut down, the people were let go or moved, and retail operations were consolidated to Columbus, OH, with other operations in Texas, Louisiana, etc.

Bank One had earlier absorbed First Chicago and NBD.

[no_hypocrisy]

27. Opened my account in 1974. Bank bought and sold four times since then.

[arcane1]

28. I work for what was once a regional American bank

We were bought out by a bank in Japan a couple of years ago, and since then our number-one priority has been acquisition. Gobbling up smaller local banks and claiming their customers as our own.

At least we have the decency to rename them after us, and not pretend that they are still the same.

[Cid_B]

29. USAA is owned by USAA... I think...

[rugger1869]

41. USAA is owned by its members

nm

[Cid_B]

57. Great service... try to do as much through them as I can...

[PETRUS]

31. Bought then bought again. nt

[sandyj999]

33. I was with Lasalle Bank and then B of A took them over. I promptly went to a credit union. n/t

[Gidney N Cloyd]

38. Same here for my main accounts. Around the same time my mortgage wound up with Citibank.

I liked Lasalle and enjoyed doing my banking and mortgage stuff in one spot.
So far no issues with BoA but I find Citibank really irritating.

[Arkansas Granny]

39. The bank where I've had my accounts for over 40 years has been locally

owned since 1872.

[L0oniX]

40. Yep ...bought out by 5th/3rd.

[MH1]

42. My main accounts are with a large local bank, but switched from a big bank

which I joined when it was CoreStates; then it was First Union; then it was Wachovia, which was bought by Wells Fargo. The building still had Wachovia on it when I closed my accounts but had been bought by Wells Fargo. I rarely write actual checks so my checks still said First Union, lol.

Anyway I am glad to be with a different bank now.

[rugger1869]

43. Worthen Bank > 1st National > Boatmen's > NationsBank > Bank of America

F%&ckers. Moved to USAA and never looked back.

[Thirtieschild]

45. C&S > NationsBank > Bank of America

[WinkyDink]

47. Bank was bought by Wells Fargo.

[surrealAmerican]

49. I started an account at a small local bank ...

... in about 1988. It's been bought by progressively larger banks I think seven times now. It's hard to keep track. Perhaps I should have kept my old ATM cards so that I could remember all their names.

[cyglet]

51. Small local bank (called Easy Place) > Wells Fargo

Left them years ago for a credit union because of their nickeling and diming. Now I have a few credit union accounts and USAA.

[Liberal_in_LA]

54. mortgage was with Countrywide that was bought by BofA

[stlsaxman]

55. Manchester Bank sold to United Postal Savings sold to First Star sold to US Bank...

US Bank charged me a two-week paycheck for snowballing a single overdraft charge.

I changed to a locally owned bank that has written in its charter that it can NEVER be sold.

that was 10 years ago.

[robinlynne]

56. For years I have been with a small local bank. It was bought 1.5 years ago.

Everything changed.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

58. Leaving bank. Originally went to bank with them. Going to credit union now. nt

[OffWithTheirHeads]

59. My account was at Security Pacific. They used to call me if my account

was about to be overdrawn. Tell me to get my butt down there and put some money in. Then, Banksters of America bought them. Charged me a fee for sneezing. Moved my money to the Sheet Metal Workers Federal Credit union and have never looked back.

[rainbow4321]

60. I was with Guaranty Bank

Pretty much a Texas based bank, if they were elsewhere it was not many places. Hell, I had a hard time finding branches around me when I was with them. Then it "became" BBVA Compass a few years ago.

[MilesColtrane]

62. Opened a checking account with NCNB in '83.

NCNB became NationsBank in '91 after aggressively expanding with over 200 acquisitions and mergers.

In '98 it acquired BankAmerica and changed its name to Bank of America.

I moved my money after BoA bought Countrywide.

Despite Warren Buffet's investment in the company, I think that it will eventually declare bankruptcy or split up and be sold.

[Revlon10]

63. North Fork Bank

North Fork Bank > Capital One

Fleet > Bank of America

Remember Chemical Bank > Chase

I'm with ActorsFCU, ACTORS FEDERAL CREDIT UNION, since 2008,
a small bit of money with HSBC because I travel overseas.

And I don't believe in overdraft, thats how they get you.

[nadine_mn]

64. Norwest bank - became Wells Fargo

I hate them too

[hulka38]

65. Gary-Wheaton-> First Chicago-> Bank One-> Chase...

going to move my account soon.

[truebrit71]

70. I started out with First Chicago as well....

...also moving my account(s)...most likely on Nov 5th...

[Hassin Bin Sober]

77. Wasn't there an NBD in there somewhere? As in First Chicago NBD?

I was with Brookfield (IL) Bank when Citi bought it. I had the same pass-book account since I was a kid.

I'll never forget when I walked in to Citi to open a checking account as I had just graduated college and started working/collecting a check/paying bills. The bank manager STRONGLY suggested the bank wasn't for me as I didn't plan on carrying a big balance in my checking account. IIRC, it was like $3000 dollars. I was like "fuck you" I've been a customer of this bank for almost my whole life.

[lonestarnot]

67. Bought so many time in 40 years, I don't know if I remember the orginal name.

First National? Beats me. Told 'em to shove it after all those years.

[tk2kewl]

69. I had my accounts with the same bank since before Glass-Stegal was reppealed.

My father worked for the bank; it was always a big bank, but thanks to the rules that limited its activity its small local branch felt like a community bank.

It has since been sold numerous times and we are actively seeking to move our accounts and refinance our mortgage with one of 3 local credit unions.

[SOS]

72. Bowery>Home Federal>Greenpoint>North Fork>Crapital One

All were state chartered banks up until Crapital One.
All were pretty good until North Fork was gobbled up by the execrable Crapital One.

[ecstatic]

73. It was called NationsBank I think?

Or that have been BOA by a different name. Not sure.

[mwooldri]

79. NationsBank bought BankAmerica in 1999.

Technically Bank of America is the successor to NationsBank, and it only became that in 1991.

[CRK7376]

74. Walk all over you (Wachovia)

just went under Wells Fargo and there goes my money....

[ScreamingMeemie]

75. Mt. Clemens Bank>First Macomb Bank>Macomb Warren Bank>Huntington Banks of Michigan...>

Huntington National Banks aka Huntington Bancshares.

[CreekDog]

76. My account at Wells Fargo (closed yesterday) was originally at a small bank

Western Financial, then bought by Golden West, then bought by Wachovia and then finally by Wells Fargo.

They were okay *until* bought by Wells.

[mwooldri]

80. The first account *I* opened was with Barclays.

They're still around. I also had bank accounts in the UK with the Bank of Scotland and the Royal Bank of Scotland (changed as RBS had a bigger English presence than BoS at that time).

The first account I opened in the USA was with First Union. They bought Wachovia, then were
"acquired" by Wells.

Main banking is now with my credit union.

[ladywnch]

81. mine was bought/merged to create US Bank. n/t