My Experience Renewing a CD at IndyMac Federal Bank

Article Submitted by: soczie
Savings - Checking - CDs


IndyMac has fantastic customer service, and my experience with them shows that it is well worthwhile to open CDs in this low interest rate environment.

 

Submitted: Aug 27, 2008    Views: 97    Comments: 1    Likes: 1   


I opened a CD with IndyMac Bank about nine months ago.

I had some concerns about the bank's liquidity so, while the rate was already fantastic, I was careful to only deposit an amount which I calculated would be worth just under $100,000 on maturity today.  In the middle of July, when IndyMac was seized by Federal regulators one Friday afternoon, I watched with comfort as CNN showed people lined up to try to recover their deposits, knowing that I was safe for keeping the balance under FDIC limits.

I received a notice of renewal earlier in the month, and called today on maturity to discuss my options.  The phone was answered in a second and the fellow with whom I spoke was amazingly helpful when I asked what my options were.  Since the bank is now owned and operated by the FDIC, I asked straight out whether I would be protected if I simply renewed the entire instrument and allowed the balance to accrue over $100,000.   He responded that it is a safe bank now that it is owned by the FDIC , but that they still recommend that all deposits be within FDIC insured guidelines.  He recommended that I could easily convert the account to a joint account.  Instead, however, I decided to reduce the balance and renew the CD intro a one year instrument paying 4.25% so that when the CD matures one year from today, the outstanding balance would be just under $100,000 (the actual amount renewed came to just under $95,800).

All in all, it was about a three minute experience.  As a result of this experience, I am not only very comfortable working with IndyMac, but would also be confortable depositing money with other banks that may now be in distress so long as I keep the balance below the $100,000 FDIC insurance limits.




Related Articles:



1

Email this story Email to someone | Print Story Print Content | Add to reading list

Comments Received:

tightwad

Too bad you didn't ask for them to match WaMu's 5% 12 month CD. They would have done it and you would have made an extra $400+ dollars.

Posted: Aug 28, 2008



Add Your Comments:

Your Name:

Spam protection control:


© Copyright 2008 soczie All rights reserved. soczie has granted BestCashCow.com, LLC non-exclusive rights to display this work on Bestcashcow.com.

Financial products of all nature bear inherent risks and this website is not a financial advisory service; it is a forum for users to share and to compare notes and observations on financial publications. The website provides, free of charge, the technical and logistical apparatus and the medium for users to share and to publish financial information and to comment on publications. As such, the website’s operator can not and does not take responsibility for information, observations or opinions of any sort or nature provided by third parties with whom it is not affiliated who use the website to publish, to comment or as a means of solicitation. Users are specifically warned against following any advice related to specific instruments, including, but not limited to, equity securities, that may be provided by other users directly on this site or on web pages to which other users have provided links on this site. BestCashCow.com can not and does not check or verify the qualifications and credentials of users who publish or comment on this site or on linked pages. Users should seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding all personal financial issues and evaluate the risks and applicability to their own circumstances of each financial product discussed regardless of who the publisher is or purports to be. Should you, through your use of this site, identify an individual or organization purporting to offer personalized advice, you bear all responsibility to ensure that the individual or organization has the qualifications that they may represent on the website, and that their advice is appropriate for your circumstances. On certain webpages, BestCashCow.com provides information related to rates on US-based savings accounts, CDs, short-term government bonds, and other US cash equivalent securities, also free of charge to internet users for their independent use. The accuracy of this information is not guaranteed, and the information, like all other information on this website, should not be construed to provide investment advice, nor to endorse a financial product of any sort.

© 2007 BestCashCow.com, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Privacy Policy.