who wants to take their money out of Citibank on Saturday?
I'm planning to do this (still have to make some final investigations into a credit union I think will work).
I could just go to my branch and close my accounts, but it's a little (friendly) suburban branch and I'd rather go with a small group to a downtown branch and do this. I'm thinking of something totally peaceful, courteous, and business-like. I have no interest in getting arrested, but I wouldn't mind doing something with others that gets noticed!
So -- any takers?
And below the squiggle -- the credit unions I'm considering
I mildly researched 4 possible credit unions.
The one closest to me, Lafayette, has been around a long time, has lots of members and lots of money. But in googling it I found that a few years ago the board of the credit union tried to convert it to a bank (a "mutual" bank, but still) and was only stopped by a rebellion of the members (which shows the power of membership in a credit union!). The board then sued a former president who sided with the members who fought the conversion, and they shut out the member who led the drive to stop the conversion. I can't tell if the current board & CEO are from the old bad group, so I'm avoiding this credit union.
Another one very nearby -- Signal -- looks good. Almost as old, almost as many members and almost as much in assets. No detectable history of anything bad. Main problem is that we are not immediately eligible (have to live or work in a different place than we live, even though this branch is located in our area). But on their website they say if you don't fit their eligibility, they encourage you to join the Washington Area Bicycle Association and join through that, $35 for one year. Sounds like a good organization (I support bicycle paths, etc.), so I'll probably do that.
Two others in our area I investigated -- Montgomery County Employees (my husband works for the county). Smaller, less money but sounds really good. However, the only branch is way the hell away from where we live. I know I can use ATMs, etc., but sometimes you need to actually go in and talk to someone.
Finally, the MAFCU (Mid-Atlantic) -- I went into their branch, about 15 min from our house -- very nice people and happy to take my account. But it's not the closest.