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| Thread: Question about US and CAD Banks. | |
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EvilLoynis
Famous Hero
The Dark Shadow
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posted September 16, 2009 10:02 PM |
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Question about US and CAD Banks.
I am a Canadian and I live in Toronto. I have recently had a disagreement with my bank here and I was wondering some things about US and CAD Banks. I would like your opinion if you live in the US or Canada, or do business with either. Tell me what country your from as well plz.
1. What would you say the most well known Bank is in the US? maybe list the top 2 off the top of your head.
2. What could you say is the most well known Canadian Bank is?
3. Do you have any particular stories about banks pissing you off enough to have you close your accts with them that you want to share?
I am just curious about this as my bank has pissed me off so much that I am going to switch. The last time I switched was like 10 years ago. Just taking a look around before I leap. Thanks for your help.
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"I am both selfish and instictive. I value nature and the world around me as means to an end as well as an end in itself; at best I ... too long to display...
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Rarensu
Known Hero
Formerly known as RTI
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posted September 17, 2009 08:15 AM |
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Edited by Rarensu at 08:21, 17 Sep 2009.
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The big banks in Canada:
* Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)
* Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD Canada Trust)
* Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank)
* Bank of Montreal (BMO)
* Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC)
Other Toronto banks:
* HSBC Canada
* Citizen's Bank of Canada
* Alterna Bank
* Manulife
The big banks in America:
* Citibank
* Bank of America
* JP Morgan Chase
* Wells Fargo (does not do business in Canada)
The epicenter of the world recession is the US housing foreclosure crisis. The primary effect of this is to damage the structure of the worldwide banking industry. Many journalists are singing that the bulk of the sub-prime mortgages are behind us. However, there's a second wave of foreclosures coming up, made up of the Option Adjustable Rate Mortgages and Alt-A mortgages. The following graph has been circulating around wall street.
As you can see, we're currently in the dip between the two waves. Rather like standing in the eye of a hurricane, if you'll pardon the cliché. In the next two years, even more banks are going to go belly-up as a result of this. While government insurance may cover the customer's losses, it will still be an unpleasant experience for everyone involved.
If you're interested in choosing a bank that's likely not to go under when the recession tide comes in again, check out The Street. They annually grade all the banks in the US. I'm using Wells Fargo, which got a C-  .
[url="http://www.thestreet.com/bank-safety/index.html?src=ratingsindex&tab=3"]"The Street" US Bank Rankings[/url]
I just did a google search and found Global Finance's top 50 safest banks. You'll notice that Canadian banks are higher up on the list than the US banks.
[url=http://www.gfmag.com/tools/bank-rankings/2341-worlds-50-safest-banks-2009.html]World's 50 safest banks[/url]
I am only 19, so I have had no serious personal bad experiences with banks. The only thing I can say is that you should always choose a plan that you understand. People see flashy deals and big numbers and then they go signing contracts without reading them. This is stupid. Read the contract, do the math, and shop around a bit before you jump on a 1-way train to who-knows-where.
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Sincerely,
A Proponent of Spelling, Grammar, Punctuation, and Courtesy.
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Binabik
Responsible
Legendary Hero
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posted September 17, 2009 08:27 AM |
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Edited by Binabik at 08:35, 17 Sep 2009.
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Rarensu listed some of the big US banks. And I don't know any Canadian banks.
One thing to note about US banks. Until recetly (within the last 15-20 years I think) US banks could not cross state lines. So all banks only operated within a single state. Since they started being allowed to do business across state lines they have grown mostly by aquisitions and mergers. I bring this up because the largest US banks are still being decided, it's still very much in flux.
As far as bad experiences with banks I haven't really had many bad experiences. About 5 years ago I was very close to closing my accounts at one bank. The reason was because they started billing me for a new service which I did not order. I didn't discover it for a few months and I demanded my money back. The teller couldn't do it, so I was in the process of closing my accounts when the manager returned from lunch and we worked things out. Other than that I'm satisfied with them
I've also had accounts at BofA with no problem. And a credit card at CitiBank. Citibank sucks because they keep charging me $39 when I pay my bill late (which is about half the time because I always forget to pay my bills ).
edit: EvilLoynis, are you considering getting an account in a US bank? If you do that you are essentially gambling on the future exchange rate which could go either direction. If you're looking to bank in another country I don't know how things are currently, but you might look into New Zealand or Iceland. But again, the exchange rate can become a gain or loss.
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EvilLoynis
Famous Hero
The Dark Shadow
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posted September 18, 2009 04:08 AM |
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Well you see I just started a new job that is going to be based primarily out of my home. I am working for a company based in the US. They sent me a check, by UPS, to buy the computer equipment and Software I am going to need to work for them. My Bank, Which is TD Canada Trust btw, tells me that because it is a check drawn on a US bank that they want to hold the check for 15 Business Days . Also fyi I have been banking with this bank for the last 10 years and had no problems with them.
Now I do not know why in this day and age, with 2 very well known banks, Wells Fargo & TD Canada Trust, that this is even remotely ok with anyone. I mean it was a business check not personal.
Then my bank gave me some bad advice, the upshot was a way that I could get only a 5 bday hold on it, then when I go in to see what the hell is happening, denying they said any such thing. Now the check which I deposited around 6pm Wednesday, September 9, 2009 will not clear until Sat, Oct 10/09.
You can just image what my feelings were after hearing that.  
Would have closed my account immediately if I had not written some checks that will go through soon and had the check still being held.
Edit: Also not being believed by the Manager when I explain things to him did not help them at all. He basically called me a liar, even though doing it the way they said makes absolutely no sense if they gave me the right information.
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"I am both selfish and instictive. I value nature and the world around me as means to an end as well as an end in itself; at best I ... too long to display...
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Binabik
Responsible
Legendary Hero
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posted September 20, 2009 08:32 PM |
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I forgot about this thread.
They outlawed those long holds in the US (I think about 10 years ago +/- a few years). I don't remember how long they are still allowed to hold checks, but I think it's shorter for local (same state) than it is for state-to-state. Two days and five days come to mind, but I could be WAY off on that. I have no idea what is allowed for international checks, but it wouldn't surprise me if 15 days is allowed. But just because it's allowed doesn't mean the bank will actually do it. It's up to bank policy.
I think running a business using a US bank would be a pain. It might decrease the hold when you deposit checks, but you'd still have to get the money into Canada and you might run into the same kind of problems.
It's just something you need to research. You might also check into different types of accounts. Also, before opening an accuont for this purpose, I'd check into how they handle the exchange rate, the banks might not all be the same.
Depending on how much money it is, you might also look into using Paypal. It's real easy to transfer money to someone in another country that way. I've done it a few times and it only takes a few minutes. I don't remember what kind of fees were involved though.
I just noticed you said 15 *BUSINESS* days. OUCH!
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EvilLoynis
Famous Hero
The Dark Shadow
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posted September 24, 2009 08:58 PM |
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BANKS RIP ME OFF EVEN MORE
Ok as we left this off last time the bank had decided to hold the cheque for a ridiculously long time. The company decided to send me the money via Direct Deposit because of the hold up. Now they stopped payment on the check ounce this was decided.
Now the original cheque was for just over $2000 US, my bank gave me about 2000 CAD + $130 Cad for the exchange rate for it. Now because it was returned they took it back out, but for some reason they took out 2280 CAD or so. The reason for this is apparently because of the exchange rate. Even though they never actually gave me this money they are charging me more than $80 because the cheque was returned.
Does this make sense to ANYONE?!?!
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"I am both selfish and instictive. I value nature and the world around me as means to an end as well as an end in itself; at best I ... too long to display...
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del_diablo
Legendary Hero
Manifest
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posted September 24, 2009 09:13 PM |
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Quote:
Ok as we left this off last time the bank had decided to hold the cheque for a ridiculously long time. The company decided to send me the money via Direct Deposit because of the hold up. Now they stopped payment on the check ounce this was decided.
Now the original cheque was for just over $2000 US, my bank gave me about 2000 CAD + $130 Cad for the exchange rate for it. Now because it was returned they took it back out, but for some reason they took out 2280 CAD or so. The reason for this is apparently because of the exchange rate. Even though they never actually gave me this money they are charging me more than $80 because the cheque was returned.
Does this make sense to ANYONE?!?!
Ehm what? Did I get this correctly?:
So 2000$ was sent to you.
This is 2130 due the exchange rate.
Then your company withdraws the payment over check and pays it to you directly instead.
But 2280 CAD is taken out of that check(EHM..... what the?!).
Then YOU get charged for the difference in the exchange?
If this is true, I wonder what laws that the bank got to justify it. You never got the money, thus there is no validity in changing its currency(from my point of view). And the bill is even more of a "WTF?!", since its pulled out of thin air and nowhere.
Correct me if I am wrong.
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Binabik
Responsible
Legendary Hero
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posted September 24, 2009 10:07 PM |
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"Does this make sense to ANYONE?!?!"
Yes it makes sense, but I don't agree with what they did. All you can do is talk to the manager (not the teller) and MAYBE they will wave the fees.
In my last post I said "I'd check into how they handle the exchange rate, the banks might not all be the same". What happened with you is exactly what I was talking about. The official exchange rate is not what they are going to use. They will add a small amount as a fee. So the official exchange rate will be somewhere in the middle of the two amounts. So it would probably be close to (2130+2280)/2 = 2205. In other words they charged a fee of about $75 for each transaction.
Here's what sucks. You deposited a check. When you did that they charged a fee for the exchange rate. That was a single transaction. When the company put a stop payment on the check, the bank looked at that as a SECOND transaction and charged a second fee for the exchange rate.
You see it like the deposit was just canceled, as if it never happened. But in reality the check really was deposited into your account. You said "Even though they never actually gave me this money". A hold doesn't mean you don't have the money. The money was in your account and probably collecting interest. You just couldn't withdraw it.
Every place will charge for this, but some places will charge more than others. I don't know what is normal, but I had the impression that banks will have better rates than a lot of other places (like those places in airports are terrible).
I think there's a good chance that they aren't even capable of doing it any other way. The deposit was made and entered into the computer and probably even have backup copies of it. There might not be any way to just pretend it didn't happen.
I know, it sucks. A lesson learned.
One thing you might check into is if the fee is lower with larger amounts of money. If that's true then maybe you can have the company pay you larger amounts but less frequently.
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angelito
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
proud father of a princess
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posted September 25, 2009 08:41 AM |
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Quote:
And a credit card at CitiBank. Citibank sucks because they keep charging me $39 when I pay my bill late (which is about half the time because I always forget to pay my bills)
I often read things like that and have a question:
Why is it still common practice in the States to pay your bills manually?
In germany, you hardly pay anything manually. Be it your rent, your insurance, your gas, your credit card bill, your shopping bills, pay tv, etc...
Everything is written off your bank account automatically. You can watch your account online to see what happens there, or you get your statements of account regularely once or twice a month to check the traffic.
Do you usually get your wage in an envelope from your boss, or do you get it directly on your account?
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Better judged by 12 than carried by 6.
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Binabik
Responsible
Legendary Hero
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posted September 25, 2009 07:22 PM |
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Some things are done that way here, but it's optional. Most normal bills like utilities and phone have that option. I've never heard of rent being paid that way, but it's been 10 years since I paid rent so it might have changed.
For paychecks it depends on the company. I think probably most companies have that option. In a small number of companies it's the only way they will do it. And probably most small companies don't have that option.
I don't use any auto payments for bills myself. I don't like the idea, it's too much like Orwell's Big Brother. I prefer to go into a real bank with real tellers and talk to them face to face.
When ATMs first came out I refused to use them for the same reason.
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EvilLoynis
Famous Hero
The Dark Shadow
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posted September 29, 2009 08:30 PM |
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Quote:
"Does this make sense to ANYONE?!?!"
You see it like the deposit was just canceled, as if it never happened. But in reality the check really was deposited into your account. You said "Even though they never actually gave me this money". A hold doesn't mean you don't have the money. The money was in your account and probably collecting interest. You just couldn't withdraw it.
Well my acct is a chequing acct and doesn't actually have interest being paid on it unfortunately. My Savings does but chequing is for paying bills and keeping money on hand.
So while yes the funds were "There" but with a hold, that made no difference what so ever.
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"I am both selfish and instictive. I value nature and the world around me as means to an end as well as an end in itself; at best I ... too long to display...
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