Tag Archive for 'ecomony'

Wednesday was basically my last day as a Washington Mutual customer. While I do know about as much as the economy as… George W. Bush. (sorry. I understand the  basics, but I’m not going to lie and say I truly understand it because… well, I can’t follow it well.) So, what made me want to wake up and smell the economy issue? Well, today, I look via my Google Reader and my favorite site LifeHacker inform me of important news. I’m a Chase customer now.

Washington Mutual, my current bank, had not send one e-mail to me about this important current event. I thought I was dreaming, until I call up Washington Mutual themselves and hear a very… sad sounding welcoming me to Washington Mutual, now own by JP Morgan Chase. The wake up call finally arrived… I wasn’t paying attention to the news last week.

My thing with Washington Mutual that made me bank with them is of course the free checking. However, there were numerous times that the representatives there went out of their way to serve me, a customer that only look at them as a “money storage place”. I didn’t really think of CDs, credit cards or even a business transactions. Yet, the reps are always helpful and treat me like they know me. So, I wanted to do more business with them, and expand my operations beyond just “money storage”. I didn’t pay any mind to the crisis last week because… well, I don’t understand it. I always look at the bright side of things. Sure, there was a time when my deposit actually FROZE a few days ago. But again, didn’t think much about it.

So, it forced me to look at the current champion of information… wikipedia. While I am aware of the small problems, I usually don’t fear things such as this.  So, am I happy that my bank account is saved? Yes. Am I happy it was my Chase? That’s iffy. While Chase is literally all over NYC, it’s not really one of those banks that I would go to. I always like “personalization” and banking at WaMu was more like getting a cup of Starbucks coffee. However, this line from Chase’s website turns me off a lot more than anything:

All WaMu customer deposits are now deposits of JPMorgan Chase, one of the strongest financial institutions in the world.

“One of the strongest financial institutions in the world”…

I feel like I’m supporting the mark of the beast… whoo-hoo? More like… DOH!