Comments on: Why I would choose EmigrantDirect over others

By: Mike

Mike — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 04:49:22 +0000

Hey I’m trying to figure out what would be my best bet for depositing 11 million dollars that I’ve recently won from the Fla. Lottery…. I’m kind of confused, cause most banks only have FDIC for a little over a hundred thousand per. account…. Now I just simply want to deposit all the money into one bank if that is Ok or many banks…. Not wanting to invest all over the place anytime soon, just want things to be hassle free and draw interest on savings is all…. I plan on keeping out like
$ 500,000.00 cash on the side for just spending for fun and paying off all debts, buy decent boat etc…. Any suggestions on the banking method I should choose would be greatly appreciated…. I was thinking that I could just put all in one bank, but have like 11 different accounts thinking that each one will be FDIC insured over a hundred thousand or so each ? Not sure if I’m thinking right, but I do know that I need to get it all in the bank or banks soon…. I’m just a little nervous about all of it and do not want to have a lawyer help me or any local accountant advice to have to pay them to help etc.., cause it can’t be that difficult can it ? Just to keep it simply in the banks without spreading it around into all kinds of property everywhere etc… Which I will do later on in time…. Just want it in the bank or banks the smartest way….. Rather keep it in the States without having to go overseas to Swiss bank or something…. I know there are CD’s etc… that maybe I should look into as well…. I have never had this kind of money and was lucky if I could save up to $ 5000.00 in a whole year into savings, before this blessing…. Thanks guys for any suggestions that you can give me…. Didn’t want to give real email address at this time, due to security of any harrasment or internet contribution stuff or whatever right now K…

By: frugal

frugal — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 03:47:20 +0000

Andrew,
Thanks for your input. Yes, I don’t know about it. There are many things that I don’t know. And I’m always glad to learn new things & information from my readers.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 00:10:19 +0000

Don’t you know presidential bank? I have been using it for over 3 years. It gives highest interest rate at any time and all time. I guess the reason for its high yield and that you never heard of it is because it saves money on advertisement.
http://www.presidential.com

By: frugal

frugal — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 13:59:47 +0000

Thanks your input Freedumb. There is another good choice.

By: Freedumb

Freedumb — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 20:31:04 +0000

Frugal, I’m really starting to like GMAC…Check writing, competitive interest rates, easy account process, clean website…plus, once I get to actually do a transfer, fast transfer…hopefully I can link ING and HSBC together…anything to avoid HSBC’s 3 day delay! Although GMAC is a little questionable in terms of financing…I believe GM recently received guarantees to sell GMAC though.

By: Rich Slick

Rich Slick — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 18:34:52 +0000

Well I also forgot to mention that HSBCDirect.com give you an ATM card to pull your money out. I’m not sure if Emigrant does the same or not. In the event of a disaster (like Hurricane Katrina), you’d be hard pressed to transfer money without power,internet access, or computer however if you could find an ATM in a nearby city, you could easily pull money out with your HSBC ATM Card.

And Frugal, I’m not saying you wouldn’t eventually get your money back, I’m saying it would probably take a long time to get to it.

By: frugal

frugal — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 17:49:33 +0000

Thanks for all the feedback, especially from Khyron.

On the internet, you can always meet people that are smarter and more knowledgeable than you, in practically anything you say.

I’m just glad that I catch your eyes to at least give this matter another perspective, besides the absolute interest rate.

Please keep it coming. I love learning from my readers.

And I guess Citibank looks like a good choice too.

By: frugal

frugal — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 17:38:38 +0000

Thanks for all the feedbacks.
Just a quick response to Rich Slick, I don’t think banks in NY is a lot more risky than banks elsewhere, just because of terrorism. Nowadays, a bank will be stupid not to have any backups for their data at different geographical locations. Even my company which is a non-financial company has such scheme of data backup.

By: Khyron

Khyron — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 17:33:10 +0000

Wow. There seems to be a lot of FUD in here.

HSBC is an old British bank. They have a huge presence in Europe and Asia. In London back in 2000, I passed HSBC ATMs all the time. That’s why I went with them. International presence and a sturdy, reliable brand. Hopefully, if ever I need to get money and I’m out of the US, I can exploit that presence. HSBC has been banking for ages. Acquiring Metris gave them credit card presence in the US, just like the Household acquisition a few years back gave them a mortgage lending presence in the US. But HSBC was a fine bank before all of that, and still is as far as I am concerned.

EmigrantBank, of which Emigrant Direct is a subsidiary, has been around for a while too. They definitely aren’t “new”. But they are a regional bank in NY state, with heavy presence in NYC. Emigrant Direct gives them a nationwide footprint without buying/building branches.

Capital One started offering banking services (by purchasing Hibernia and another bank recently) because the cost of capital is lower for banks than credit card issuers like the old (pre-nak acquisition) Capital One or MBNA or Metris. Deposits are a cheap source of loan funding. Previously, they had to get funding from the capital markets (issuing stock or debt), which made their cost of capital higher and less stable. The reserve requirement thing you mention is irrelevant, in a discussion of banking strategy. Leave that for a discussion of inflation, central banking and economics with the Austrians and Keynesians (sp?).

By: Glenn

Glenn — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 17:27:08 +0000

What about Citibank? You do have to open a checking account as well but they have said they are going to be a major player in the high yield savings market. I have recently opened an account and am very happy with the account. I also have a checking account that pays .5% interest.

By: Rich Slick

Rich Slick — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 16:59:19 +0000

That’s a nice round up but the two items that kept me from opening an Emigrant account were:

1. Emigrant’s TOS says they can keep your money for up to 30 days if they want to after you request it.
2. Emigrant is soley based in New York and that city is a continous target for terrorist. Forget about FDIC insurance, what happens if there is a dirty bomb in NYC and your account is simply frozen for 6+ months?

Like 2 million said, keep half at HSBCDirect and half at Emigrant for better peace of mind.

By: 2 million

2 million — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 12:54:26 +0000

Emigrant a new player? I could be mistaken, but I believe they are part of Emigrant Bank, one of the oldest banks in NYC.

I currently split my savings between HSBCDirect and EmigrantDirect.