http://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/news/cnspr06/leadstory.html

Our new town has TCF,Wells Fargo,B of A,Chase(yikes),Citi,American National, and several small credit unions. So far I haven’t been overly impressed with any of them. I would love to hear what people think of their own banking choices here in the west. (Colorado specifically)Who do you like? Who have you had problems wit? Etc…

Interesting article. Thanks for the read.

Does anyone know how FDIC insurance works? If a bank fails, do you get paid right away, or do you have to wait until everything is sorted out? For how long? How do you prove how much you had in your account if the bank’s computer is screwed up because the bank failed? The point of having an emergency fund is knowing you have access to the money when you need it. Having it tied up in the FDIC process is not ideal. So you have to look at the overall resources of a bank. An international bank that survived world wars like HSBC, ING or Citibank is much less likely to fail than a small bank new in the business. They are much more likely to have security and processes not to screw up.

Vanguard money market fund, despite its lack of FDIC insurance, is actually as safe as or even safer than some of the FDIC insured deposits. The money market fund invests in short-term government bonds and commercial paper issued by many corporations. There is diversity in its holdings. Those holdings have value. A bank deposit on the other hand is an unsecured obligation of the bank.

FDIC insurance is nice but you really don’t want to see yourself using it.

Constantly updates with who’s got the highest rates for savings and CDs.

I’ve decided screw FDIC insurance. Vanguard Prime Money Market gets my money. If Vanguard blows up, this country has much bigger issues than my puny emergency. Not to mention they already have a ton of my money in their investment funds and will get a ton more in the future.

I guess I just don’t really understand the scoring system. I would just get all the banks (probably from bankrate.com), and order them by interest rate. Throw out all non-FDIC insured banks. Then start looking at the fees to see which one fits each person’s situation best.

You might also want to throw in track record. I.E. What their interest rates have been in the past. Look at Citibank – they were 5%, now down to 4.75%, and they may go down again.

Also, if you know of another place that lists all the banks and info about the banks, let me know. Thanks.

First of all, fees. Would you accept a 5.50% savings account if they dinged you $10 a month in maintenance fees, or would you take a 5.00% savings account? Obviously, unless your balance is HUGE, you choose an account where there are no fees, or only small annual ones. This is exactly what you’re saying above. Thus, the fees are “equal” for the banks you compare.

Then you compare customer service. For your needs, customer service is merely the ability to deposit and withdrawal (you hope). Thus, customer service is “equal.”

That leaves the final factor, interest rates, which is the criteria for you to use in your situation.

I like the list, but when I think high-yield savings account, I think of something completely different.