October 1, 2008
Apparently Wachovia had been feeling a pinch over the latest banking problems; they're selling their consumer banking and a couple other divisions to Citibank. There's some formality stuff to go through but apparently I'll be a Citi customer by the end of the year.
I hadn't actually been paying attention to whether the bank was in trouble -- my checking account is (way, way) below the upper limit the FDIC will insure. My only concern is that even more money will be moving into even fewer corporations. I'm sure some wingnut or another will be on TV tonight telling us all how wonderful oligopolies are, and that deregulation is the answer to all of life's problems; my concern is with options much more limited that banks will become as concerned with customer satisfaction like the cable and phone companies are.
Edit, 10/5: Or, they'll get bought in their entirety by Wells Fargo. If that sales goes down I'll be switching to another bank -- I've heard too many horror stories about Wells Fargo's fuckups to trust them with my money.
