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I bank with SF Fire Credit Union. They offer services to any SF resident. They gave me a line of credit, offer mortgages, online banking, free checking and savi

I bank with SF Fire Credit Union. They offer services to any SF resident. They gave me a line of credit, offer mortgages, online banking, free checking and saving, reimbursement for ATM fees. In other words, there is no reason to prefer Bank of America to them. So why does much of SF still use Darth Vader's bank? Americans have no one to blame but themselves. When I tell people they should divest their savings from BoA, a bank which was directly responsible for massive fraud that caused the housing bubble, they look at me blank eyed and move on. These people have power because we gave it to them.

ams6110 11y ago
I absolutely agree. I can see no reason for an individual to use a big national bank. I've always used small local banks or credit unions (I actually moved my accounts to a credit union when my local bank was acquired by Chase). This used to be quite easy to do, since you didn't have direct payroll deposit and never had to worry about covering more than your outstanding checks. Now, with all kinds of automatic transactions most people have, you have to coordinate things a bit more carefully.
- astazangasta 11y ago
  >Now, with all kinds of automatic transactions most people have, you have to coordinate things a bit more carefully. I really hope this isn't the reason large banks have power (inconvenience of switching). With a whimper...
  - pm90 11y ago
    Its kinda a big deal. I have an account with the Credit Union at my university in the Midwest and now I live in Texas. If they had a better online banking presence I would ABSOLUTELY keep my money with them. But their presence on the web is sooo incredibly dated: https://www.uiecu.org/ASP/home.asp https://www.uiecu.org/ASP/home.asp. (Its not just the UI and the draconic security measures; I fear that they don't have the right checks in place to prevent online fraud). Meanwhile, Chase has a nice Android app which gives me instant information about all my transactions. They detect fraudulent transactions immediately. Auto-Pay for bills. Convenience and security wins. Since this is all anecdotal experience: there was a period of time between jobs when they sneakily charged me $5 per month when I did not make a deposit in my checking account. So I do see the evil aspect is there.
    - sdenton4 11y ago
      My experience has been that 'larger' credit unions end up looking more bank-like (and even share the same web interfaces these days; probably using the same SAAS provider...), but still without the evil quotient. My current credit union (Golden 1) ran a five million dollar surplus a couple years ago, and just divided it up amongst the savings accounts... But point being, bigger credit unions are generally a bit more smooth at the edges.
  - FiatLuxDave 11y ago
    It absolutely is the reason, and was that way even before automatic transfers became common. I have left BoA three times, never having signed up as a customer. Every time I would move to a new bank, NCNB/Nationsbank/Bank of America would buy them and raise the fees. A few customers like me would leave, but enough would stay for the process to be profitable. Read up on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_McColl https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_McColl , the Genghis Khan of the US banking industry.
setpatchaddress 11y ago
If I move out of SF, what happens? That's the problem for a lot of people.
- function_seven 11y ago
  Nothing happens, I bet. I'm still with a credit union that was affiliated with an employer I left over 10 years ago. That employer doesn't even exist anymore, but I still bank with that credit union. Once a member, always a member. EDIT: I think I misunderstood your point. If you're talking about being close to a branch or whatever, then that's also not necessarily a concern. The closest branch for my CU is 350 miles away. But the Co-op network and the website together cover 100% of my needs.
  - Redoubts 11y ago
    Indeed. The coop network is great for branch access and ATMs, and like many CUs, mine refunds the fees foreign ATMs charge up to 8 times a month.

ams6110 11y ago

I absolutely agree. I can see no reason for an individual to use a big national bank. I've always used small local banks or credit unions (I actually moved my accounts to a credit union when my local bank was acquired by Chase). This used to be quite easy to do, since you didn't have direct payroll deposit and never had to worry about covering more than your outstanding checks. Now, with all kinds of automatic transactions most people have, you have to coordinate things a bit more carefully.

astazangasta 11y ago
>Now, with all kinds of automatic transactions most people have, you have to coordinate things a bit more carefully. I really hope this isn't the reason large banks have power (inconvenience of switching). With a whimper...
- pm90 11y ago
  Its kinda a big deal. I have an account with the Credit Union at my university in the Midwest and now I live in Texas. If they had a better online banking presence I would ABSOLUTELY keep my money with them. But their presence on the web is sooo incredibly dated: https://www.uiecu.org/ASP/home.asp https://www.uiecu.org/ASP/home.asp. (Its not just the UI and the draconic security measures; I fear that they don't have the right checks in place to prevent online fraud). Meanwhile, Chase has a nice Android app which gives me instant information about all my transactions. They detect fraudulent transactions immediately. Auto-Pay for bills. Convenience and security wins. Since this is all anecdotal experience: there was a period of time between jobs when they sneakily charged me $5 per month when I did not make a deposit in my checking account. So I do see the evil aspect is there.
  - sdenton4 11y ago
    My experience has been that 'larger' credit unions end up looking more bank-like (and even share the same web interfaces these days; probably using the same SAAS provider...), but still without the evil quotient. My current credit union (Golden 1) ran a five million dollar surplus a couple years ago, and just divided it up amongst the savings accounts... But point being, bigger credit unions are generally a bit more smooth at the edges.
- FiatLuxDave 11y ago
  It absolutely is the reason, and was that way even before automatic transfers became common. I have left BoA three times, never having signed up as a customer. Every time I would move to a new bank, NCNB/Nationsbank/Bank of America would buy them and raise the fees. A few customers like me would leave, but enough would stay for the process to be profitable. Read up on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_McColl https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_McColl , the Genghis Khan of the US banking industry.

setpatchaddress 11y ago

If I move out of SF, what happens? That's the problem for a lot of people.

function_seven 11y ago
Nothing happens, I bet. I'm still with a credit union that was affiliated with an employer I left over 10 years ago. That employer doesn't even exist anymore, but I still bank with that credit union. Once a member, always a member. EDIT: I think I misunderstood your point. If you're talking about being close to a branch or whatever, then that's also not necessarily a concern. The closest branch for my CU is 350 miles away. But the Co-op network and the website together cover 100% of my needs.
- Redoubts 11y ago
  Indeed. The coop network is great for branch access and ATMs, and like many CUs, mine refunds the fees foreign ATMs charge up to 8 times a month.