<p>In answer to Dad II in what we look for in a bank: We are not too demanding, we use a bank as a conduit to receive money (income) and distribute money (bills, savings). We do not need a banker for loans or investments. So as we always have a fair balance in flux, we want/like interest and no fees.
Since the conversation has started it seems as if an internet bank or credit union would do the trick for us and will probably be the way we will go. Appreciate everyones input, thank you!</p>
<p>artrell - I’d highly suggest checking into the pnc bank if they are in your area. i know i mentioned them earlier but their interest rates are good and their online banking is second to none plus you have an actual bank to go in to if you have any issues with something. if you keep 2,000 (i believe that’s the number) in your checking account they will reimburse atm fees from other banks atms. their online system tracks what’s coming and whats going and its graet when you have things in flux to keep an eye on it. they are always so pleasant and very helpful in person as well.</p>
<p>fendergirl, PNC is only as far west as Illinois.</p>
<p>To be fair, there are ways to have a private banker without having a lot of money yourself. I am executor for a family member’s estate that had substantial assets at the start, but I am not the heir for hardly any of it. Many of the assets have been sold, and the proceeds distributed to the heirs. I still have the private banker, though 
Will be very sad to see that particular element of the estate go when we finally close it (likely to be around 8 years after it opened…). My private banker helps with all banking, not just the estate accounts.</p>
<p>I had private client services with two financial firms. With one firm, it was nice to be able to get a hold of someone without having to go through the usual voicemail stuff but they do like to call up to see how I’m doing and sometimes to try to sell me stuff. With the other firm, the one large benefit was when I wrote a check on the wrong account and it didn’t have enough funds - they called me and asked me if I wanted to pay it with a different account instead of bouncing the check. That was a very nice service. In general, I like to manage everything by myself when it comes to brokerage stuff - I don’t like advice, or special products, etc. I haven’t needed a loan in the last decade and my biggest problem is where to put money to get a decent return at an acceptable level of risk.</p>
<p>The routine banking stuff, checks, deposits, credit cards, online banking, ATMs - my credit union can do all that.</p>
<p>I second BECU. Been a member for over 25 years. Great rates. Service is fine - we do most of our banking online and through ATMs, but the neighborhood service centers are there when we need it. My sister, who worked for WAMU, had her primary account at BECU. Go figure. </p>
<p>Umpqua Bank has been getting a lot of press lately, but I don’t know how many branches they have around here (one is at the North King County line).</p>
<p>Another BECU fan here. I can do everything online, even deposit checks. I have checking, saving, CDs, health savings account, Visa, home equity line of credit… all no-fee.</p>
<p>BCEagle - I am sure you are a private client because amount of asset you have on deposit with them, or fees they are generating from you. We routinely run a program to see how much fee income we are generating from each client, and if they have enough asset with us. If not, we notify their their bankers to move them to regular accounts. The reason is they do get a lot more service than other accounts, and we waive certain transaction fees.</p>
<p>In the northeast we are very happy with peoples. They reimbursement us for any out of state atm fees with helps with my out state college student.</p>
<p>OK…my only advice. Stay away from Bank of America. They don’t even LIST their local branch phone numbers in the phone book or online. Their customer service is awful. And beginning last fall, you pay $8.99 a month if you want to deposit or withdraw money from your checking account at a teller window unless you have auto deposit from your employer. Their customer service is all over the country…different branches in different places. AND because they are a national bank, your state banking commission has no say over them (although I understand that may be changing).</p>
<p>Yes, seems all the big banks are instituting NEW monthly charges on their previously free checking accts. I’m told that with changes in regulations, the banks had to discontinue some fees and so are putting new ones into effect to compensate.
“Banks ARE a business, you know” as one bank officer recently stated to me.</p>
<p>For ex: Chase now requires some hoops to be jumped through to avoid monthly charges…so many debit card uses (not me) or direct deposit over $500 in each month.
I do have paycheck direct deposited so I’m dodging that one. But our 21 yr old D also has direct deposit into her acct but not >$500. AND it has to be >$500 in a SINGLE deposit, multiples in a month do not qualify to waive the fee.
I fear that banking services will become overly expensive for low income folk like our DD.</p>
<p>Absurd that B of A will CHARGE customer to DEPOSIT money into your acct via teller.
I guess you’re supposed to deposit checks into the ATM to avoid that?
Honestly, the ‘rules’ are becoming quite complicated. Sure wish we were wealthy enough to just not have to think about all this stuff.</p>
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<p>Yes. They have the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates at near zero so that they can borrow for free and lend money at a higher interest rate and pocket the difference. It’s nice to have a business where you control the currency.</p>
<p>OP, just realize that we don’t share the same banks because the region difference. </p>
<p>We use different backs for different things.<br>
GE high interest checking when we had extra cash. They offer the best interest to any checking account I know of. they are on line and I don’t think you have to be a GE employee to use it. </p>
<p>A free checking with a national bank to do all my internet/paypal transactions. I keep around $100 there. If someone gets all the money there, I will not loss much. I think they are going to charge a fee for that account soon.</p>
<p>Then we have all our other accounts with PNC because we could walk to the branch. Me and my kids all do direct deposits there. Because it is very convinent and the services have been very good.</p>
<p>T1, I have no clue why we are given that private client service this year. We have been banking there for 5 years. If the service is based on total $ in the accounts, we would have had this service two years ago but not now. Lately, because we are paying two school bills, our account balances are getting smaller, much smaller. </p>
<p>Oldfort, sounds like you are a banker. Does bank offer special service to lure future customers? May be they want to impress us so our kids could continue their banking with them later?</p>
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<p>Most banks do NOT continue these services for NO FEE if your balances drop below their threshold. This is standard for banks…these types of special services are available only to high balance holders and if the balance goes lower, the account holder loses the special standing.</p>
<p>I seriously doubt that the bank is trying to “impress you” to keep your kid accounts…unless your KIDS already have VERY high balances.</p>
<p>I have a high-balance at one Brokerage/Bank and I do a significant amount of trading with them so I generate commission fee revenues for them.</p>
<p>MY DH used to work for a large bank many moons ago. There were, at that time, varying levels of personal/private banking as well as professional banking. At his bank, personal banking was the lower of the two, and private banking was higher. They came with lots of personalized service. But to qualify for either one, there had to be a <em>significant</em> amount of money in the checking/savings/investment accounts. </p>
<p>Oldfort- would a family (parent of college student) qualify for personal/private banking if a large quantity of the funds were in the name of their parent (eg grandparent of a college student)? That way the parent gets all the benefits of private banking, but the money is stashed in the grandparents name so FAFSA and CSS doesnt see it, thereby making them look “low income” or having “need”.</p>
<p>One of the reasons I stopped using my credit union is because they keep coming up with fees after fees after fees. I didn’t take any money out of my account or even touch it for like five months and when I went back to it I was missing about 20 dollars in random fees that they had came up with out of nowhere. They randomly instituted a service charge for not having direct deposit, even though I never had it in that account, they randomly instituted a not using atm card fee, even though I never use that atm card, etc. I wound up canceling my atm card for them to get rid of that fee, and switched my account over to a new one that didnt require direct deposit, even though mine never did in the first place. I only keep about 50 dollars in that bank these days. Transfered all the rest of my money from those accounts over to my PNC accounts. The only reason I haven’t canceled it out completely is because they DO have good car loan interest rates so I may decide to do that next time I buy a vehicle.</p>
<p>A friend of mine works for a different credit union and he told me that this past year they had record profits. They’re making tons of money.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t think it is very easy to transfer large amounts of assets to grandparents’ names without involving a fairly large gift tax and that the assets, if generating income have to be reported on the grandparents’ income tax.</p>
<p>I know it isn’t open to everyone but I love USAA banking and D has had an account now with no problem. I also love depositing checks from my iPhone but in general no complaints.</p>
<p>We have another account that was Chevy Chase and is now Capital One and we’re debating closing it and moving everything to USAA. Although a TD Bank just opened around the corner and we may do that to have a local option since my younger D and S want someplace they can access easilly.</p>
<p>I second shillyshally about USAA. It is for members of the military and their dependents, but you don’t have to currently be in the military. Their on-line services are excellent and they pay you back for ATM charges if you use non-member ATM machines, so you never have to worry about using a particular machine.</p>
<p>I would definitely check into any bank’s online services, because there is a huge range and some are just terrible.</p>