Huntington’s takeover of Cadence…

[leeinator]

My bank is Regions.
My investment account is Fidelity.
And have a loan through Pentagon Federal Credit Union.

So far no one has ever attempted to merge or buy out those three for the last 30 years. Nor do I expect anyone to try.

 

[Bulldog Bruce]

I’m the opposite. I want to know my banker personally. I want to be able to get a personal loan without it having to be approved in friggin Atlanta, Dallas or anywhere else. My banker knows me. I know him. Sign here and here’s your check. Easy peasy

Good for you. Doesn't answer my question though. Things have to stay stable for that to work and that just isn't the world we live in anymore.

 

[Botch]

I’m not saying regions is planning to sell anytime soon but they are significantly smaller than the other banks you mentioned. I could certainly see them being purchased by someone one day.

If you look at Europe, their banking is dominated by just a few large banks. It will obviously take a long time but that is essentially where we are headed too.

You’re exactly right and that’s what the regulators want in the long run. There will be about 10 banks in the US that will control about 99% of deposits.
At that point, you will not want to bank with the little guys. Technology costs way too much for a community bank to compete.
As for Regions, there are several banks that could acquire them if they want the RF footprint.

 

[champdawg.sixpack]

Good for you. Doesn't answer my question though. Things have to stay stable for that to work and that just isn't the world we live in anymore.

I wasn’t arguing that point. You’re right. I was just stating my druthers. Yes, I long for the days of Mayberry. So, get off my lawn!!!

 

[The Cooterpoot]

You’re exactly right and that’s what the regulators want in the long run. There will be about 10 banks in the US that will control about 99% of deposits.
At that point, you will not want to bank with the little guys. Technology costs way too much for a community bank to compete.
As for Regions, there are several banks that could acquire them if they want the RF footprint.

I used to do some contract work for Regions and back then there was talk of a Canadian bank and PNC possibly buying them. Been awhile since then but if Regions isn't buying banks, then they're selling. That's the reality of banking and they're a top 35 bank in the country who was once much higher in the pecking order.

 

[patdog]

If I’m gonna have to go change all the account #s on my payments and deposits then I may as well change to a new bank or a credit union.

Yeah. This is why I thought it was strange they’re doing this. There’s a lot of inertia in staying with the same bank. But if you change everyone’s routing number & account number you’re basically making all of you customers free agents. I just don’t see the reason in doing that.

 

[patdog]

Ok…It’s a new account number and routing number for your auto payments
What travesty am I missing?

Well if I’ve got a dozen things coming into or out of my account each month, that’s a dozen different places I’m going to have to contact, get their form, fill it out, send it in, check to be sure they get it right, and hope you didn’t miss one. Huge unnecessary pain in the arse. I realized this when i converted my home bridge loan into an equity line a few weeks ago. They would lower the fee from $275 to $75 if I tied it to one of their checking accounts. I actually liked a couple of their products. But when I thought about all the crap I’d have to go through I just paid the $275.

 

[patdog]

With the Bank of Mississippi -> Bancorpsouth -> Cadence my routing and account info stayed the same. The website stayed the same. I got the notice that this time it's all changing and since many of my monthly bills are direct pay this might prove to be a real pain. The only checks I write now is paying taxes to avoid the 3% surcharge of using my debit card for local and state taxes.

Is it time to change to one of these big online banks? I never found much use for my local Bank. Rates always seemed to be higher locally.

Anyone on SoFi or Capital One or Ally?

In a lot of counties you can pay taxes with an online check instead of a physical check with no fee.

 

[YesIAmAPirate]

Well if I’ve got a dozen things I min to or out of my account each month, that’s a dozen different places I’m going to have to contact, get their form, fill it out, send it in, check to be sure they get it right, and hope you didn’t miss one. Huge unnecessary loan in the arse.

This is how I feel. I don't know which autodrafts are tied to my bank account and routing number and which are pulled from my debit card for the same account. I am guessing it will all be affected so it really won't matter but tracking it all down and hoping I don't miss one will be a pain.

 

[DrQuayEvans]

Who owns the big banks? BlackRock is the biggest investor in Huntington Banks holding company. They are buying everything including bank.

Blackrock owns shares in publicly traded companies via their mutual funds. That is not the same as a private equity company buying a smaller company. I would think, without looking, that Blackrock has a Private Equity arm, but it's not the same.

 

[GloryDawg]

Is the routing number and account number to my checking account going to change?

 

[GloryDawg]

I just called the bank, and they said everything is changing. I will have new account number, routing number. I will have to reset up my direct deposits. The Debit cards will remain active until July. My checks if I have any will be accepted until they are gone. The new bank will send me new checks, and the first order is free. Basically, it like setting up a new account at a new bank. I might as well go find another bank. Freaking Regions never gets bought out.

 

[paindonthurt]

It can be good, but I have been part of two companies that sold out to private equity firms. The first was awful from the start. We went from a company that cared about it’s employees to just numbers on paper, great insurance to awful insurance, etc.

The second company was purchased and at first it was great. They took majority control but let us keep producing. That changed a few years later when they put into place there leadership. Commissions cut, healthcare cut, we went from the local company too billion dollar giant. I had to literally tell customers we were right and they could kick rocks. Good customer service was replaced by the dollar. All the good sells guys including me got out.

It is a complicated subject, but short answer is they move in to raise percentage (profit) to eventually resale the company. They strip the company to make it look good on paper to flip it to next firm. Healthcare, safety, loyalty, perks, go quickly to make books look great. The first company I spoke about actually use to donate 1/3 of sales to local charities. The company completely stoped that, but claimed they have donated 1/3 to local charities haha. Big difference between we have before and we currently give.

That doesn’t explain how it kills the American dream.

 

[CoastTrash]

Does this mean I won't get the performance checking 4% interest on my balance up to $30k? I love that about Cadence, but if they kill that, I'm out.