Switching over to a new (stronger?) bank

[sabrinamari]

Some quick exploration of several of our bank's ratings has given me pause. I'm opening up a new joint money market with my honey at an online bank that has a high yield (comparatively speaking...ah, how interest rates have dropped!) and a much stronger set of ratings. It's a division of a brick-and-mortar New York bank that comes up looking great on the ratings system. I know that the ratings system is imperfect, but low, low ratings have me thinking that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

While I continue to have faith in FDIC insurance and I'm not worried about losing my deposits, I *am* thinking about the inconvenience of trying to get at my emergency fund if/while one of my banks goes under. The whole point of an emergency fund is that it should be liquid---easy to get just when you need it. The specter of a holdup right when I need my money is enough to motivate me to open a new account somewhere else.

With my new money market account, I'm giving up check writing privileges since I rarely write checks anymore. Usually, I would want this, but to get a bank that offers high interest, strong ratings, $1 to open, no fees and no minimum balance, I'm willing to give that up.

Hmmmm, it's certainly an interesting ride.

Comments

[flamespirit.livejournal.com]

I was wondering this same thing. I have 2 checking accounts, one with Wachovia where my salary is deposited into and one with ING which we use as a joint household account. Wondering whether I need to move my salary deposit into ING, instead of Wachovia. I haven't seen any negative press about ING, but then they are purely an online bank...

[sabrinamari.livejournal.com]

That's a good question. I'd spend some time collecting information about Wachovia as well as ING and thinking about what I want to do. If nothing else, you'll learn more about both of your banks, and right now, that's a good thing.

[siobhra.livejournal.com]

My local credit union claims they never did any of the sub-prime lending so they are as strong as ever. However the on-line bank as resulted in money going in that STAYS in. I now have enough for a real down payment should I need a new car. Before I always tried to save for a down payment but something always happened.
By the way, what is the name of that bank you use in New York?

[sabrinamari.livejournal.com]

I made a post with links to the bank I chose.

More importantly, I laid out the steps I took in deciding to move my accounts there. This way, you can follow my logic and see if there's anything you would do differently, or anything else you'd want to know more about.

Just because it was my decision to use this bank does not mean it will be the best option for you. Still, I'm hoping that's it helps you in some way. :)

[sidhne.livejournal.com]

What is the name of this new bank. I've been thinking of changing too, but for different reasons.

[sabrinamari.livejournal.com]

I just made a post with links to the bank I chose.

As I mentioned to Sheev above, I've laid out the steps I took in deciding to move my accounts there. This way, you can see if there's anything you would want to do differently, or something else you'd need to know more about.

I want to make it easier for you to make the best decision possible for yourself. :)