next »

[monarda]

I've belonged to a credit union for years, for checking, CDs, mortgages.  Today I opened two credit card accounts at the credit union to replace the ones I have at Bank of America and Citi.  I never carry a balance. It doesn't matter that these banks never made any interest off of me.  It felt good...like when you've just cast your vote for someone you believe in.

I'm liking this movement. Keep things local.  We got angry at Chase customer service years ago and closed our accounts there.  BofA and Citi are both on lists of the big evil banks...
I HATE Wells Fargo and Washington Mutual.  All of our mortgages are held (and processed) locally.

I still have a US Bank card, but I've been unable to determine (yet) if they're a "good bank" or a "bad bank". Any opinions?

<I'm also jazzed because we learned that both our credit scores are A+>
<Not a surprise, but good reason to pat self on shoulder and grin>

[monarda]

Related Daily Kos post
<that uses too much bold, italics, and other emphases> ... sorry.

[charlesr]

The article is wrong.  The 12 to 1, or 30 to 1 ratios mentioned refer to how much a dollar of equity can be levered by borrowing.  Deposits are not equity, they are liabilities.  In fact, the deposits are one instrument that banks can use to lever their equity. 

Closing a $1,000 account reduces the assets of the bank by $1,000, not $12,000 or $30,000.

[fizmath]

Here is a list of banks that are "too big to fail."

http://lewrockwell.com/wenzel/wenzel146.html

The initial list of G-SIFIS:

Belgium: Dexia
China: Bank of China
France: Banque Populaire, BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, Société Générale
Germany: Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank
Italy: Unicredit
Japan: Mitsubishi, Mizuho, Sumitomo Mitsui
Netherlands: ING
Spain: Santander
Sweden: Nordea
Switzerland: Credit Suisse, UBS
UK: Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland
US: Bank of America, Bank of New York Mellon, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, State Street, Wells Fargo