So, what happens to the checks I've written on my WaMu account? Will my landlord be able to cash my rent check?

pullout control your own destiny

my advice: pull out. not that my advice is worth anything.

@MissTicklebritches: They will still be good.

Pull out if the stock is higher then when what you paid for it. IF it's lower then what you paid for it, ride it out. The government will save you.

Time for anyone doing business with WAMU to move along to the next "best thing" (whatever that may be).

The fastest way to get a English speaking Human for WaMu credit card customer service is dial, 800-249-5143

@Bladefist: I believe the question was geared towards depositors, not investors.

I am personally indecisive about what to do with my own WaMu accounts; that is probably the worst thing to be.

run on the bank

I still maintain that you shouldn't start pulling your deposits in a panic over losing your money. There certainly are other reasons to withdraw, though.

As a depositor, unless they have pissed you off for some reason, its not worth the hastle. There will be far less hastle involved in an FDIC takeover for the typical depositor than there is in changing accounts.

And yes, I am a depositor.

The way things are going the FDIC will probably end up with WaMu. So as long as you are under the FDIC limits you will probably be with the safest bank around soon.

WaMu Federal

@Bladefist: As mentioned before, this is geared towards depositors, but I'd like to ask what you mean when you say the government will save you if it's a matter of your stock becoming worthless?

And aren't you the guy who's always talking about the virtues of taking the government out of everything? How do you feel about these massive bailouts - with taxpayer money - that are a direct result of all of that?

Any thoughts on how this will affect WaMu credit cards?

@youbastid: I'm not asking to bait. I'm really asking.

@Bladefist: Why ride the stock out? It's virtually dead. Once the company is bankrupt/closed, the stock is useless.

As for depositors, it would depend on your credit history. Look around before you pull all your money out to go somewhere else. At least if they do transfer ownership you still will have an account

@asthecrowspins: You will get new cards. The debt remains. You will still make the payments, just to somebody else.

@MissTicklebritches: Sure they will, but if you got the same notice I did this month, it will cost your landlord $5 for the privilege of cashing your check.

I'm hanging in there, but looking for a bank - or credit union - now. If they go under, I want to switch my direct deposit ASAP.

grabbing your money out of banks is a self fulfilling prophecy.

Take your money out and it will collapse. Your deposits are safe up to $100,000. Pulling it out now only makes the collapse a certainty.

All those depositors got their money back at Indy Bank. So don't sweat it.

As we speak there is only 86 cents in my Wamu account. I got out a while ago.

I'm sticking it out. I've got all my statements, I've got enough cash on hand to weather a week or two if it comes down to the FDIC, I'm caught up enough on my bills that I can talk my way into any allowances I might need for them, and my landlady loves us and will understand if something happens.

And don't give me this new masters shit. WaMu isn't my master, I'm theirs.

I'm withdrawing enough cash for a week and leaving in the rest to ride it out.

Also switching whichever bills from "Deduct from checking" over to "Charge to credit card"; enough procrastinating.

I've got 50 bucks. 50 bucks, right here for you, WaMu.

This is entirely the reason I have a checking acct(checks, check card, etc) at two different banks. That way if one pisses me off or there is a problem with the bank, all I have to do is move whatever is in the acct to the other.

If you're over the limit, get under it. Otherwise you're cool. For trust accounts over $100K, make sure there's less than $100K per trustee.

If you're not sure, get sure ASAP.

@ironchef: Sure, they got their money back. But who wants to wait in line for hours, then wait 8 weeks for the check to clear? I'm taking my money out now so I don't have to deal with that hassle.

I'm out...opened new accounts at Suntrust, yesterday.

@Xerloq: Really? I haven't gotten that notice...maybe in next month's.

I'm going to open another account, but keep WAMU for now. This is why I don't do automatic withdrawals using banks...just CCs.

Any recommendations for Southern California? I don't like HSBC (had an acct with them before), and I've heard too many bad things about BofA. Any other suggestions?

How does this effect the WMInvestments portion of Wamu? I have a wamu bank acct and savings acct, then my investments are run through there. I was told that they are not FDIC insured but they are insured through another company for up to 500k for the money market funds. I have a large money market fund investment in there since its hard for me to take cash out of there and I can just use it to invest when needed.

What happens if you have a mortgage through WaMu? I guess it'd be too much to ask that someone forgets about its existence... :)

Just be sure you have a new bank account before you close your old one. A few years ago I tried to add someone to my BoA checking and they were refused because of their credit score. So I assume some banks run your credit before they let you open an account.

Unless you've worried about losing $100,000+ you don't _need_ to take out or switch banks, however, like someone mentioned, there's other reasons for switching. THe inconvenience of not knowing what your banking future is, is enough to switch banks for me. I would rather switch over all of my epay bills, online accounts, MS Money, etc, without waiting till I _have_ to.

@socalrob: I called my WMI broker this AM. He told me that they are a different company than the bank. If the bank goes under, they're fine.

If for some reason WMI fails, you may be protected by the SIPC: [www.sipc.org]

Here's a link to thier "plain english" brochure:
[www.sipc.org]

What the heck Consumerist? Yesterday you make a big deal about not panicking and causing a massive run on WaMu, and today you dare us to "wait to find out who your new masters are, or pull out now and decide for yourself?"?

I feel no reason to stick around and find out what the WaMu/FDIC aftermath will look like. I can transfer my savings and direct deposit in a couple clicks.

Bye WaMu. You never fucked me over (that I know of). You had a very decent savings account rate, gave me free paper checks, and your web UI was the best I've used so far. You even let me bounce my checking account once and didn't charge any fees.

I wonder if my Wamu stock will become totally worthless? I have like 10 shares, now worth about 20 bucks (Woo Hoo!!) and it seems hardly worth dealing with at this point.

Buy stock in a Sign Company...they are going to be getting a lot of extra business this year.

@Marshfield: bless your heart. my own best return on investment at the moment is a spare 20-lb note left over from a trip to london three years ago. except i would have to drive about 75 miles to get to a place i could exchange it, which would wipe out any advantage to the exchange rate. *sigh*

I'm pulling my WaMu account, switching to CitiBank. Finished opening the account 6 hours ago.
The Citi has got Dubai cash, so ain't going anywhere (this week).

As for the "panic," kinda hard not to look after yourself when Wall Street itself is in a panic. It's a shame, but I'm not interested in betting my money that someone's going to bail it out, and not interested in having my funds tied up, even for a day.

Leave your money at WaMu at your own risk, at this point...

I meant "Whoo Hoo!!". Kittenfoo, if you like, mail that twenty to me, I can exchange it next time I drop someone off at the airport. I'll send you half back via Paypal.

Got most of my money out of WaMu into BofA today ... had WaMu cut a cashiers check. That way, if Sunday comes, and they are shuttered, I have not as much in there to deal with.

I remain concerned about the lack of news. This smacks to me of intervention to prevent panic in the LARGEST S&L out there. There should be much more mainstream news than this otherwise. That's what scares me the most. I don't think the FDIC would take them over, they have spent quite a bit already, and this one is HUGE.

@Bladefist: Pull out if the stock is higher then when what you paid for it. IF it's lower then what you paid for it, ride it out. The government will save you.

Considering that WM has shed 95% of its value this year and is at a 17-year-low for a stock that's only been around for 18 years, I think the class of people who got in for less than $2 is very small.

It's important to note that, so far, the fed has not rescued any shareholders.

@TechnoDestructo: That's a generous offer, I believe. I'll chip in $25 and we can split the risk that way.

First off, depositors who meet the FDIC standards have nothing to worry about.

Second, let me tell a little story: way back in the 1980s, along about the time when the "Keating 5" were in business, there were a whole lot of banks and savings/loans in Arizona. They were big banks, too - covered the state and provided great local service. Then what seemed to be the impossible happened here in the West - Bank of America bought Security Pacific National Bank. This is like Belarus buying Ukraine, if you're looking for a modern equivalent.

At the same time, all of the banks owned by the United California Bank chain rebranded themselves as First Interstate Bank. Hang on, it gets better.

BofA buys Security Pacific. Wells Fargo buys First Interstate. And in the meantime, all of the Arizona banks were bought by the big then-California banks. There are some small Arizona banks now, I guess, but if you don't want to pay an ATM charge when you travel, you pick Wells, BofA, or Citibank. Or maybe WaMu.

What happened to all of the employees of all of the Arizona banks? As soon as they were assimilated, their jobs vanished, leaving a whole lot of white-collar, or at least benefitted, people, without jobs. I'm not speaking figuratively when I say that somebody did turn off the lights in the Arizona Bank/Bank of Arizona tower in Phoenix.

So WaMu is safe within reason. Bear in mind the history of what happens to bankers, however. This time the hit will come to Seattle instead of Phoenix, Los Angeles, or San Francisco.

@Elisa - Farmers and Merchants Bank of Long Beach has a good reputation, I'm told. Look them up. They post their financials on their website.

@vesuvian: Yeah, they're not bad. Definitely much easier to deal with than Wells Fargo.

So what actually HAPPENS when the FDIC comes into play? What do customers of the bank have to do to get their money? Are the accounts frozen while they cut checks? Do the bank's ATMs stop working? Do other banks' ATMs stop giving money to customers of the affected bank? Do you have to stop writing checks to pay bills?

I think all of us who are on the fence about whether to yank our funds or sit tight would be much better equipped to make a decision (or to live with whatever decision we've made) if we understood precisely what happens, step by step, when a bank goes under.

Something is seemingly very wrong with WaMu for my limited experience with the accounts. I want to believe that they will be okay, however, I am starting to loose the faith.