[Mr. Jeeves]

Everyone needs to move their funds to a smaller local bank.

I tried that a few years ago. Bank of America came along and ate my bank - I had to leave again.

Right now I'm with BBVA Compass Bank. Not too big, but owned by the giant and financially shaky Spanish bank BBVA. No nationwide branch network. Very nice people at the branch. No political agenda evident. Electronic banking seems to be a few steps behind other banks. You can't have everything. :)

[fwdude]

"Everyone needs to move their funds to a smaller local bank."

I tried that a few years ago. Bank of America came along and ate my bank - I had to leave again.

That's why I found a bank with explicitly biblical values - hard to find, but they're out there. They eventually sold/merged, but they were well-rooted in their principles and sold to another bank with the same values.

[hanamizu]

I tried that a few years ago. Bank of America came along and ate my bank - I had to leave again.

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Opposite happened in my case. BofA branches in SE Missouri were bought out by a regional bank. BofA decided there was no future for them here. But I started with a local bank that got gobbled up by a larger, multiply that 3 or 4 times and I found myself a Bank of America customer. At first I missed the national reach of BofA—a branch near my mom’s in San Diego and stepson in Atlanta. But even small banks can be part of nation-wide no-charge ATMs. See if your small local bank is part of the network.