oh oh My bank sent me a reassuring letter

[dixiegrrrrl]

One of those "everything is fine, don't worry, we have no exposure to any of the problems, your money is safe and FDIC will protect you in the highly unlikely event that that the Titanic hits any ice...."
Bankrate.com rates the bank as carrying too little cash for the amount of loans outstanding.

Fortunately, I moved most of the money to a much safer bank.

[Fed_Up_Grammy]

1. Good for you.

[CoffeeCat]

2. My husband and I are in the same boat...

...sort of.

I looked up our bank and bankrate only gave it TWO stars! We've been banking with them
for ten years.

I want to move everything out and into a more highly rated bank. My husband is dragging
his feet. He doesn't think that anything bad can happen.

Bankrate is invaluable.

Anyone else wanting to look up the rating of your own bank, go to bankrate. It's a highly
respected resource.

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/safesound/select.asp?insttype=0

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. Mr. D. was reluctant at first to move money too.

I asked him how happy he would be living with me if we lost our money in that bank.

He did not think about it for more than 5 seconds.
I moved it the next day.

There are stories every day of people who lost their money because they did not pay attention to what is going on and/or to what could happen next.

He who hesitates, as the saying goes.

[CoffeeCat]

4. Do you mind if I ask you some questions?

Can you really LOSE your money? Supposedly, all deposits are FDIC ensured...but
exactly what does that mean?

I'm not clear what that "getting your money back from the FDIC" process would look like--and
how quickly you could recover your funds.

Are there examples of banks failing and people losing their money?

I think we need to get the money out...you're making me see that more clearer. I'm just going to
have to pull my husband along on this one.

And finally (sorry for all of the questions!)...was it easy to change banks, and move all of your
online automatic payments over to a new bank?

Thanks so much for and insight...:)

[dixiegrrrrl]

6. Here is what I know...

My worry has not been so much that banks go under.
I bank at a local community bank.
My worry is that martial law might close down banking, or there might be a banking holiday.

None of the old rules seem to work anymore. The regime has violated almost every single social contract we have had with government. They have made it clear that the welfare of citizens is of absolutely no concern to government.
No one ever thought that Money Market funds would ever go below a dollar a share.
When it happened a month ago, it was clear all bets were off.

In "normal" times, FDIC would have money in it to repay depositors. However, they repay different levels of depositors in different ways. It can take as long as 5 years to get your money back.
There have been public concerns that FDIC does not have enough money to cover all losses, esp. now that they increased the coverage amount to 250,000. per account.

Google bank closings. There are a couple of sites which keep track of closings.
Usually if a bank goes under, another bank steps in, assumes all the liabilities, and customers, within 24 hours. The bank goes under on a Friday and another bank opens for business with your accounts on a Monday.
But some larger banks, like WaMU, just go under. Depositors and shareholders alike can lose money.
My son had his money in a cd at WaMu, and ignored my urging to move it out.

Moving money is easy. You go to a bank you trust, having looked up their rating on bankrate.com, open your account with a check from your old bank, ( not all of your old bank money, just as much as you can afford to do without for a week while check clears) soon as the check clears ( about 3-5 days) your new account is active, then you can write a 2nd check on your old account and close it out completely, or leave a small amount of money in it...no law against having 2 banks.

Feel free to pm me if you have any other questions.

[TNDemo]

7. Did your son get his wamu CD money back?

nm

[dixiegrrrrl]

8. Thank you for asking.

I don't know.
It was a 10 K insurance settlement,he told me he put it his bank's cd and I know his bank is WaMu.

He lives on the other coast and has been very evasive when I have asked.
It could be he got it and spent it, tho that is unlike him.
It could be he lost it and can't admit he did not follow my repeated urgings.
I have dropped the issue.
As a rule, since they are soooo over 18, ( 2 sons in their late 30's )
I do not saturate them with unsolicited advice unless they ask for it.

In the case of the predictable,foreseen and inevitable financial collapse, I shouted out a couple of warnings and then dropped it.

[TNDemo]

9. I have been seeing this banking thing as a survival of the fittest.

I keep trying to keep tabs on the health of my banks (I have my money spread between several), although that is not always easy or clear. I just figure they can't shut them all down on the same day.

[JenniferJuniper]

5. Unfortunately, there aren't enough lifeboats

as usual.