scott1961 said:Most use these accounts as a place to park money so what's the big deal of the hold? So you are losing .27% for no good reason

As I stated, if you don't move money in and out often - yes, the hold policy is no big deal. I am no expert, but I find this delay highly unnecessary, let alone that it deprives me of the money I own for two weeks.

I also feel uneasy about scheduling a 100K transfer and knowing that for two weeks the money is not available, and that the only record of the transfer taking place is kept by a website running arcane insecure software.

Bottom line is - there's no free lunch, so your extra 0.27% is the reward for your willingness to make these compromises.

jmz668 said:If you need the money TODAY then the account type is wrong for you, as the only was to access it is with a transfer between banks.

Incorrect. As an example, read GMAC's funds availability policy for their MMA - your ACH deposits are available for withdrawal immediately.

subdude said:

Bottom line is - there's no free lunch, so your extra 0.27% is the reward for your willingness to make these compromises.
No compromise for me, I would never put money into an account like this that I thought I would need in 10 days.

subdude said:Do you have no analytical skills? It certainly isn't an MMA technically, but is pretty much equivalent to one in terms of what people would use for. And I mentioned GMAC for comparison only.
No, it's not an MMA, and most people I know with MMAs write checks out of them, monthly.
This is more a longer term type of account but with a more liquidity than a CD.

BTW, Vanguard has a 10 day hold on ACHs in their MMF.

mla12 said:errickson said:hey everyone... was considering countrywide for the 5.26% daily until i read all the negatives in this thread (hard pulls, 10-day hold, etc). many thx for the info.... i currently have 100k sitting at wtdirect earning 5.13 daily (with no problems at all btw) ... i know i may get flamed for this, but curious if you all go to the hassle to move accounts for a .13% Delta? any good "rules of thumb" for when it's "worth" the trouble to switch? thx again

There are rate-chasing calculators to figure out the break-even point:

http://www.mymoneyblog.com/archives/2006/10/the-ultimate-interest-rate-chaser-calculator.html

And FWIW, negatives aside, I'm still very happy with my Countrywide account. Never had any problems with them.


Thanks... I'll check out the link

bluechalk said:I've been reading speculation that Countrywide could go bankrupt because of all its subprime mortgages. What happens in this worst case scenario? I know that their accounts have FDIC insurance. But I assume that it must take a while for the FDIC pay everybody and that no interest would be paid for this period. Does anybody know how long one might loose access to their deposits and to interest payments?This has been discussed before.
The short answer is that you will most likely experience NO delay in gaining access to your FDIC insured deposits. There are no guarantees, but it's unlikely that there will be any disruption.

If you're too lazy to do a search of FWF for "FDIC" then I'm not going to do it for you.
But if you're interested such a search will allow you to review the prior (and more extensive) discussions of FDIC insurance protection.

Sub-prime risk is less for big banks

I wouldn't worry that much about big subprime lending banks,like the Wells fargo(which I think is the largest),couuntrywide,HSBC etc....

exposure to sub-prime losses is offset by its large portfolio of other loans and businesses. That broader base enables them and other diversified mortgage companies to continue offering these high-cost loans to borrowers with credit problems or unreliable income, even as other lenders collapse.Large Banks have established large reserves to offset the losses its loan-servicing business suffers when homeowners refinance, paying off their old loans.Woes of the sub-prime industry have barely dented Wells Fargo,countrywide,HSBC shares.

New Century Financial Corp. of Irvine, once the nation's largest independent sub-prime lenders is different.I think we will have more of these type lenders collapse before this thing is done.

SmallBizMan said:... oh sheet ...

hope it is just weekend site maintenance ... but this is what bank.countrywide.com tells me when I log into my $100k+ Savingslink account ...


"...Currently, you do not have any active bank accounts with Countrywide..."


So was it just maintenance...or something worse?

Just an FYI for everyone... I applied for the SavingsLink account, and was denied based on "information provided by Equifax" (in a hard pull). The reps from Countrywide refused to tell me why, just that I could obtain a copy of my report from Equifax. Is it legal for them to pull credit, deny the account, and then refuse to give a reason why (other than that it was based on the info in the report)? I always thought that they had to give a reason.

It is just bizarre to be denied a savings account based on a credit report. Are they afraid that I'm going to park too much money in it?

Anyway, I suppose that this adds to the warnings that customer service with these guys is not great.

CorporateBob said:Just an FYI for everyone... I applied for the SavingsLink account, and was denied based on "information provided by Equifax" (in a hard pull). The reps from Countrywide refused to tell me why, just that I could obtain a copy of my report from Equifax. Is it legal for them to pull credit, deny the account, and then refuse to give a reason why (other than that it was based on the info in the report)? I always thought that they had to give a reason.

It is just bizarre to be denied a savings account based on a credit report. Are they afraid that I'm going to park too much money in it?

Anyway, I suppose that this adds to the warnings that customer service with these guys is not great.
They are not worried that you are going to put to much in. You should get your report right away as there might be something pretty bad on it. Also I find Countrywide CSR's very good