Bye Bye Banks and Wall Street

[madmonkeygirl]

I went to WaMu yesterday to make a deposit. The teller tells me i'm prequalified to get a credit card. I said no thank you for today but will keep it in mind. I swear no more plastic. But if it is that easy for banks to lend out the plastic for ppl to keep getting into debt with no wonder the problems occur like they have been. Sorry but i won't abuse plastic ever again (lesson learned). If i can't afford it i don't get to buy it. Would be nice to have what i really want but in the end does it make me happy? When the bill comes to have to pay it off. I don't think so.

GC that is total umm B**lS**t what the teller told her but whatever.

[Gemini Cricket]

Yeah, total BS. My advice to her was to call the branch where she opened her Wells Fargo account and ask them to remove the hold. I have done this numerous times and they have always done it for me. But my advice was too late as the check was deposited and cleared before she told me about it.


When I was a teller in HI, I never put checks on hold. I was against it. The system of holding checks was totally up in the air at that time (1999-2000 or so). So a teller could put holds on checks at their discretion. I figured if the check isn't good, the bank makes money from the fee for bouncing the check.

[Alex]

Generally, the issue of placing deposit holds is no longer in the hands of the tellers. There are broad general rules and then there are also back end tools that use complex risk evaluations to determine if there needs to be a hold. That's why tellers frequently couldn't say why a hold has been placed if it is outside those broad categories. It could be (just as an example) that the risk analysis software has noticed a pattern of fraudulent cashier checks in your town deposited to accounts newer than 90 days.

The amount of check fraud out there is amazing and the tools we love for making banking easier just make that easier as well. But deposit holds are among the biggest customer complaints and I can assure you the customer facing bankers behind them generally don't like them much better than the customers.

[Kevy Baby]

With Berkshire Hathaway stock going up $12,500.00 per share today to close at $90,000.00, Warren Buffet made $4,375,000,000.00 (four point three seven five BILLION dollars) today.

I'm not sure how much sting it takes off the $25,952,500,000.00 (almost 26 BILLION dollars) that he had lost since December of 2007 (when the stock peeked at $151,650.00).

I don't know why, but it amuses me to follow BRK.A stock.

[Alex]

Since some here know about it, I figured I'd mention my fate in the "bye bye banks" environment.

The official announcements to all WaMu employees were made earlier this week (as you probably saw from news stories).

Everybody was in one of three groups:

1. Good bye! This group was given 60 days notice of termination and many were told this essentially meant they could stop coming to work immediately. Standard severance package paid at end of 60 days.

2. Transitional, or Good bye soon! This group is viewed as important to migrating WaMu functions to Chase. Most were given a termination date of June 30. Pretty good incentive package paid out at end if you don't leave, plus standard severance.

3. Hello, or We Love You Long Time! This group was told that they have a continuing position with JP Morgan Chase.


I'm not entirely sure why, but I am somehow in that third bucket. Within my immediate group of 30 or so people I was one of two. I don't know if this is good because they don't seem to have decided yet what exactly my job will be going forward so I don't know if, long term, I'll even want it. But at least it is stability and I'll have a job to hold while looking for work if I don't like it.

[innerSpaceman]

Well, want it or not, I'm very pleased they love you long time. Happy Thanksgiving, Alex.

[Andrew]

Originally Posted by Alex

I'm not entirely sure why, but I am somehow in that third bucket. [...]
But at least it is stability and I'll have a job to hold while looking for work if I don't like it.

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

Well, want it or not, I'm very pleased they love you long time. Happy Thanksgiving, Alex.

What iSm said.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

That's good news, Alex, congrats.

[Morrigoon]

Just heard on ABC: the recession is finally official. And it's existed since last December (duh).

[wendybeth]

Well, the rich are finally feeling the pinch, Morri. That signifies the start of any sort of economic difficulty. I literally lol'd when I read that earlier today. Like you said: duh.