Not Ranked
Joe,
No need to change banks just yet.
Washington Mutual is in trouble because they over loaned on mortgage loans and built new banks on every corner that was for sale. Just like many other banks did.
As for your deposits, don't worry about them either. As long as you are under the FDIC insured amount you should have no problems. Your funds will always be available to you. If they do close, which I doubt, you will have access to your debit cards and checks until the bank is reopened.
If you have a credit card from them that may be a different story. The card "could be" held up on, so you will have to watch that closely. The reason the credit cards could be held on payment is because the bank "may" no longer be able to issue credit. Now, I am not saying they CANNOT, I am saying they MAY NOT be able to.
Basically the bank is for sale, that does not mean it is defunct. It means they are looking for capital infusion to pay the bills, and keep the needed reserves required by FDIC and the regulators. A bank is required to keep reserve for loan losses and reserves for deposits, among other things. If they get close to the minimum, or below they try to raise capital. Washington Mutual is no different from any other bank right now in that they need deposits to shore up for the reserves.
OK, So what happens to your money?
If the bank is sold, the new owners will make your money available to you just as it is now with no problems. Only the name on the building will change as far as you are concerned. Your checks will still be good, even though they have Washington Mutual on the front of them. The checks are paid by a routing number, not by the bank name on the check.
So what do you do?
Nothing, you don't want to move to a bank that is not public about being for sale. That is when you get in trouble.
Hope this helps.
14 years in banking,
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