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So, why did Citi and Chase pull out of this area? We moved here and had the same issue. We kept our Chase account...using online and drop into one whenever we visit NYC. We do have local Credit Union accounts, which is great...but was just curious what happened?
Citi and Chase were never here to begin with. Those are NYC banks that became national - to an extent.
Cool...but they are located in almost every other area of the country...but not in this area. I understand Wells Fargo not being here yet...
Well, because of my father's aforementioned long employment with Citi, I can tell you that Citibank is very sparsely represented west of the Mississippi. Just looked it up, and the only western states that have any branches are California, Nevada, Texas and South Dakota. Of those, Texas and South Dakota only have two branches each. Really, the only states that have a significant number of Citibank branches are New York, Florida, California and Illinois. Even New Jersey, right in their backyard, only has 11.
Cool...but they are located in almost every other area of the country...but not in this area. I understand Wells Fargo not being here yet...
So many local banks/credit unions in RI/MA (and well established larger ones such as Citizens), that I think they would have a tough time. I'm amazed Bank of America stays in business in New England.
So many local banks/credit unions in RI/MA (and well established larger ones such as Citizens), that I think they would have a tough time. I'm amazed Bank of America stays in business in New England.
Two New England Banks, Shawmut (Boston) and Fleet (Providence) merged. The new Fleet Bank, now based in Boston, merged with BankBoston. Bank of America came in and bought Fleet in the early 2000's. They had a built in presence in New England unlike Chase and Citi which attempted to come into the market on their own names.. I understand Wells Fargo now has a downtown Providence office for loans.
It is just one of those little neat Rhode Island quirks. Was just curious. Same as why Costco won't move in....perhaps the liquor lobby..lol. I'm overall grateful that we normally have many local choices here in our small state that are better than the national options in so many different categories.
From experience, Wells Fargo and TD Bank are the worst regardless of what state they are in. TD especially -- their main location is in Maine; they do everything by email, even mortgage apps and approvals. Try and get a mortgage through to a buyer, and it's like going to a bad dentist.
Imagine this: I had a seller whose buyer actually lived on the same road as the main office in Maine, relo'ing down here. The dufus in the Maine bank sent her guaranteed TD bank check to the attorney for the closing and there were a few one-hole paper punches through the magnetic number on the bottom of the check! making it invalid. Yes, the check arrived on a Thursday for a Friday closing. D'oh ! no closing until the check was returned to Maine via FedEx overnight for replacement, which over a weekend became a tentative Monday closing.
Ha ... buyers had to spend 5 nights in a hotel, and luckily sellers had given the closing atty. Power of Atty. because they were long gone.
Wells Fargo; went to the Lincoln RI office once. Most of the lights were out except for a customer service office down in a corner and one teller. You would have thought it was closed; or they are saving on electricity. Bank of America, tops.
We have TD bank and my only complaint about them is the scarcity of ATMs. Otherwise, they are great. I found Bank of America to have terrible customer service.
Two New England Banks, Shawmut (Boston) and Fleet (Providence) merged. The new Fleet Bank, now based in Boston, merged with BankBoston. Bank of America came in and bought Fleet in the early 2000's. They had a built in presence in New England unlike Chase and Citi which attempted to come into the market on their own names.. I understand Wells Fargo now has a downtown Providence office for loans.
Right. And if there ever was a bank worse than BoA, it was Fleet aka. "Flees". Ridiculous fees, horrific customer service. Many had their accounts with Shawmut, Baybank, Bank of Boston, etc. acquired by them, and many left soon afterwards. Don't know anyone who ever had a good experience with them.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mr2448
Two New England Banks, Shawmut (Boston) and Fleet (Providence) merged. The new Fleet Bank, now based in Boston, merged with BankBoston. Bank of America came in and bought Fleet in the early 2000's. They had a built in presence in New England unlike Chase and Citi which attempted to come into the market on their own names..
This is correct and is at least one explanation as to why B of A is so prominent in the region. Many people become B of A customers through acquisition, and inertia keeps them there.
I prefer small banks and credit unions. I was once (briefly) a B of A customer when they bought the small bank I used; I suffered a few months of B of A, then moved to a credit union.
One of the great things about New England is the plethora of small banks where you can get personal customer service. There are also some good credit unions, though credit unions are more pervasive out west.
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Bank of America, tops.
