Which bank is the safest?

[beren]

I know I'm being a bit paranoid, but there's a lot of talk around about how Washington Mutual might be the next bank to fail.

What are some good banks with low or zero mortgage portfolios? I know our savings are all guaranteed by FDIC insurance, but wouldn't there be a delay in getting my money out?

[Gootsy]

From what I understand, IndyMac closed on Friday afternoon, and opened again on Monday thanks to the FDIC. Not that bad of a delay.

I dunno which banks aren't heavily exposed to the mortgage mess, but if it's really worrying you, why not just open another account at any of the 'big' banks in your area? Even if they have a lot of problems, chances are they'll survive. At least 1 of the 2 anyways

[Will]

How about Wells Fargo?

Gains in credit-card fees and insurance softened the impact of bad home loans at the San Francisco-base bank, which increased the quarterly payout 10 percent. While earnings have declined for three straight quarters, Chief Executive Officer John Stumpf has kept the bank profitable even as Citigroup Inc. and Washington Mutual Inc. racked up losses and lenders Countrywide Financial Corp. and IndyMac Bancorp Inc. disappeared.

Overall I agree with Gootsy. If your money is at a major bank, I'm guessing there won't be a lot of long delays of getting your money out. Most likely if a bank like Wamu fails it will immediately be bought up by another huge financial conglomerate.

I am curious if anyone knows of any banks that do not have ANY mortgage exposure. Maybe small community banks or credit unions?

[cindybythesea]

I am too and even the biggest banks are hurting. Have you seen Bank of America's stock chart? It looks just like Bear Stearns right before their debacle.

[Megan]

If I understand correctly, part of the huge panic at IndyMac was the people who had more than the FDIC insured limit in the bank. If you're concerned about delayed access to your money, why not consider having savings accounts at two banks? Personally, I have money at a local brick and mortar (Bank of America) and at ING Direct.

Over all though, I think as long as you watch how much money you put into a bank, you'll be fine. And don't forget that applies to things like CDs too!

[Xin Lu]

Yeah, I also think bigger institutions are generally safer, but currently it is hard to tell. The best thing to do is like what many people have already said, just make sure your accounts are insured. Personally I don't have that much cash in banks. I keep most of my cash in a money market at Vanguard, which is not FDIC insured. Oddly enough I trust vanguard more than banks now because Vanguard is an investment firm and they do not make mortgage loans. They also told customers that they did not invest in CDOs.

[lucille]

bankrate.com has a bank rating system you can look up your bank in.
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/safesound/ss_home.asp

I looked up our bank and our credit union. The bank is doing well and the credit union is still above average. Locally the economy is doing better and were not experiencing the housing mess as bad as most areas. Since both are local banks I would personally trust them more right now than a big bank.

The other concern beyond possibly having funds over the insured amount in a failing bank is the hassle factor. People who pulled money out of Indymac have had those checks held when they went to deposit them in other banks. Some as long as 8 weeks. Ouch.

[tannerc]

The truth is that you don't really need to stress about where your money is at right now, most of what you are hearing in the news is hoopla; the media is trying to cause fear, and they're doing a great job.

What I suggest you do is make sure you are investing in banks that are FDIC insured (which means you won't lose your money, unless it's over $100,000, I believe). But what really makes you safe in times like these is that you have investments in multiple banks. If you have over $20,000, make sure that your savings are in more than one (insured) bank.

[Beignet]

WaMu rumors are all over the trader forums. It's toast. As long as you or your company's payroll isn't over the FDIC insured rate, you should be okay.


Although I am in Wachovia and I am considereding going to a credit union.

[Dividend Growth Inve]

I agree that unless you have more than $100,000 in an FDIC insured institution, then you shouldn't worry too much.
My question to you however is whether you have considered opening a retirement account ( IRA) if you have over $100k.