We have a lot to thank the FDIC for.

[randomness]

Or the concept of deposit insurance in general. It seems like a no-brainer now, but in 1933, when the bill which was to create the FDIC was being debated, the American Bankers Association came out against it.

There's serious question as to whether Citibank, the biggest bank in America, is going to survive the weekend. They've gone to the Feds for help. But there are no hordes of depositors in bank branches shouting for their money. (At least, not in the ones open on Saturday.)

So in this Thanksgiving season, spare a word of thanks for deposit insurance and the folks who in the depths of the Depression decided it would a good way to end real-life reenactments of that scene from It's a Wonderful Life.

Comments

[madbodger.livejournal.com]

That'll teach 'em to ratchet up my interest ("penalty" interest for a payment they counted as late due to their error). Granted, I never pay interest on that card, but I resent it anyway. Let that be a warning to any other corporations that irk me!

[evilmagnus]

They did that to me, too - for a payment that credited the same day as the balance was due. They just got the payment after 1pm. Or so they said. They took it back down when I called them, but ... fuckers. I have no brand loyalty to them.

[babasyzygy.livejournal.com]

I also hope to dance on their grave. They were miserable as my "local bank" when I lived in New York City, and I've been seriously pissed off by the number of store credit cards that end up actually being Citibank cards.

[dpolicar]

It might be fun to arrange for a group of people in old-looking clothes to stand in a long line outside one of their banks waving signs that read "Give me my money!" and claim to be staging a historical reenactment.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

That would be funny!

[belfrynotes.livejournal.com]

Citi was actually a pretty good bank for me for one brief period in the mid-90s. Good interest rates on my checking. Lots of ATMs. Early online access. Then something or other changed and I went elsewhere. Now I think two of my three credit cards are Citi. One of them always was, one just ended up that way. Still, I'm the type of customer they hate as I pay my whole balance every month.