I’m currently a Chase customer, but my brother is WaMu. As he was walking down the street in Brooklyn the other night, he managed to catch this picture.
money meltdown
This WaMu Sign Is Incredibly Accurate
By 9.29.08
Congressional Negotiators Strike Bailout Deal
By 9.28.08
Congressional negotiators agreed in principle last night to a $700 billion bailout package. The bill is currently being transformed into draft legislation that can be voted on tonight tomorrow.
Back To The Basics: What Is Money?
By 9.27.08
Since pundits are convinced we’re headed for the next Great Depression, let’s be optimists and fast-forward to post-depression boom times when America will return to the basics and once again learn about money. Join little Tommy and his crisp new $5 bill as they travel through America’s financial system, circa 1947…
Study: The Poorer You Feel, The More Lottery Tickets You Buy
By 9.27.08
Very Short List notes that “America’s lotto kiosks are currently reporting heretofore unheard-of earnings,” despite the average rate of return—53%—being less than slot machines. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon recently completed a study in which they primed people to feel relatively poor, then offered them a chance to buy lottery tickets, and the results suggest that the poorer you feel, the more likely you’ll waste your money on a lottery.
FDIC Sheds Qualifying Beneficary Coverage Rule
By 9.26.08
The FDIC is going to make two changes to their coverage. One affects beneficiaries and one affects trust accounts, according to a bank insider who participated in teleconference call the FDIC held banks this morning as a refresher course on FDIC coverage. The big news is that the “qualifying beneficiary” rule is gone. Here’s the specifics:
VIDEO: WaMu Ad Has New, Dark, Meaning
By 9.26.08
Now that Washington Mutual completely imploded on its garbage-pile avalanche of home mortgages, this old WaMu commercial from August 2006, starring Scott Adsit pre-30 Rock, takes on a new, darker, meaning…
Advanta Raises Your 8% Credit Card To 20% Because The Economy Is Bad
By 9.26.08
I have had an Advanta Credit Card for a little over a year now. My interest rate prior to a few days ago was 8%. My credit rating is very good, and I have always made my payments on time. As I was looking over my bill for September I noticed a fee of $75 dollars. A few clicks later I found that my interest rate had been raised to 20%.
Insiders: Probable 1-Year Timeline For Customers In WaMu To Chase Transfer
By 9.26.08
One of our commenters, mavrick67, who says they have over 20 years banking experience and have witnessed 8 takeovers throughout the years, provided a timeline as to what you can expect.
WaMu Customers, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Is Your New Regulator
By 9.26.08
As an aside, WaMu’s charter was under the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS). Chase’s bank regulator is the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Whether being a Chase customer was your choice or not, if you ever have a major complaint about Chase regarding what you feel is on the bank’s part malfeasance, you’ll want to send it to the OCC.
Now That The Largest Bank Failure In U.S. History Is Over, Is Wachovia Next?
By 9.26.08
The collapse of Washington Mutual and the FDIC-engineered fire sale to JPMorgan Chase has people worried — about Wachovia. Wachovia’s stock is down 45% for the week, and 27% today as bailout talks stalled in Washington and WaMu held a garage sale at the FDIC.
JPMorgan Chase: WaMu Customers Should Bank As Usual
By 9.26.08
It’s official, WaMu customers are now JPMorgan Chase customers. In the interest of keeping you from pulling your money out, Chase has posted a FAQ for concerned WaMu customers that explains how the transition will take place. Most importantly, Chase says that if you bank at Chase and WaMu already — your accounts are still insured separately by the FDIC — for now.
WaMu Fails, Feds Seize It, JP Morgan Buys It, Your Accounts Are Ok
By 9.26.08
The Feds seized Washington Mutual and JP Morgan bought it, but don’t fret, all your accounts ok. Online banking is completely functional. If you held WaMu stock, on the other hand, it’s now effectively worthless. Depositors began fleeing WaMu on September 15, the day Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy. In all, they took out about 9% of WaMu’s deposits, or $16.7 billion. Regulators say this left WaMu without enough capital to keep functioning. The shakedown and bailout continues apace. What new surprises will the government bring us today, Monday, or even over the weekend? At least this one didn’t require taxpayers to foot the bill.
FreeCreditReport Hires Ed McMahon To Rap In "Viral" Videos
By 9.25.08
We’re warning you now, so that you won’t bother to fall for the “you-gotta-see-this!” absurdity of an 85-year-old former talk show announcer and sweepstakes pitchman reduced to self-mockery in order to make some money. We don’t begrudge McMahon his career, but as you know we deeply begrudge “free”creditreport.com for its misleading name, commercials, promises—well, pretty much everything.
BREAKING: Congress Has A Bailout Plan
By 9.25.08
CNN says that a deal has been reached — sort of. A bipartisan counterproposal to Bush’s $700 billion bailout plan has been drafted. The plan calls for caps on executive pay, and provides oversight on the Treasury’s actions.
Consumer 101: Get Your Free Credit Report From "Annual Credit Report.com"
By 9.25.08
You’ve probably seen those commercials featuring a friendly looking jackass and his factually inaccurate songs about what can happen to you if you don’t check your credit report. It’s true, checking your credit report is a good idea, but you can avoid subscription-hawking pay sites and, instead, go to AnnualCreditReport.com.
Ex-Credit Card Bankers: "Every Customer Who Calls In Is A Mark. It's A Great Big Con."
By 9.25.08
CNN has an interview with two former credit card bankers who are admitting that their job was to get consumers to max out their credit cards and take on as much debt as possible, regardless of the customer’s ability to afford it. They both worked for MBNA at their “sprawling consumer call center in Belfast, Maine.” The bankers say that they were told to aggressively push cash advances, and were trained to convince consumers that they needed the maximum amount of debt at the highest interest rate.
WaMu Downgraded To Even Junkier Junk, Still Looking For A Life Preserver
By 9.25.08
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that WaMu is courting several private equity firms about a potential takeover after their debt was downgraded even further into junk status by Standard & Poor’s. Once merely “junk,” WaMu is apparently, “so junky we are not even kidding around about it anymore.”
