Community Bank? I don't think so....

Don't be fool by the Marketing Messages of the Mega Banks such as Wells Fargo and others. I pick on WF because although they are second to only BOA in their size their Marketing Message states that they are a Community Bank.

But how can they be? Isn't a community bank located in that community to serve it's clients. How if you are publicly traded company, based out of SF and have acquired another publicly traded company in Wachovia can you be more dedicated to serving your customers than Wall Street.

I claim it is virtually impossible to serve two masters. In fact, if some organization is so disrespectful in their marketing message to lie to their client base, what makes you think that they will do anything more than provide idol lip service to clients the depositor rather than to Wall Street itself.

Please feel free to comment as always. Let me know what you think.

Community Bank? I don't think so....

What is a "Community Bank"? Don't let the marketing message of the Wells Fargo and others fool you. I'm going to pick on WF in this example because their most recent ad states that they are a community bank. How is this possible?

Aren't they a publicly traded company? Aren't they based on the West Coast and didn't they acquire Wachovia? Aren't they the second biggest bank after BOA? They are the proverbial 800lb gorilla in the room. They did take the TARP money where many community banks did not.

Let me put it this way. Why should you trust anyone who is willing to lie outright in their message to the public. The main mission of any publicly traded company is to their shareholders and their investors. How can they serve two masters. Afterall, if you serve Wall Street, doesn't your customer service and commitment to your clients seem secondary?

Please feel free to comment and let me know what you think.

Really Now?

I was on a conference call concerning the changes which are due to take place on April 1, thanks to “Our” Federal Reserve Board. Many of us who are originators have issues being restricted on what is the maximum compensation we are entitled to receive, regardless of how much value or service we provide. There is something so un-American, even unconstitutional about it. However, the same rules do not limit the amount of what the investors like Wells, BOA, Chase, Citi and the lot are allowed to earn.

Having said this, be aware that interest rates will probably start moving up by an .25 to .5% within the next week to the middle of April. I have no idea whether this will be temporary or not. My thought is that if you are thinking about refinancing, then move quickly. If you have an interest in purchasing then move as quickly as possible.

The real impact to you could be what you can afford and whether it will be worth your while to move forward on refinancing. Once again our government has seen to negatively impacting the competitve balance by reducing rather than fostering competition.

How counter intuitive is this?