In 1986 I opened a checking account at a little bank called First Atlanta.

[ddeclue]

It got bought by Wachovia in the 1990's and now Wachovia has been bought by Wells Fargo - I just saw the announcement ad by Wells Fargo.

How long will it be before we don't have to make those annoying consumer decisions any more?

[Fridays Child]

1. Relax.

Pfizer will take care of everything for you.

[TayTay]

2. Decisions take time

Omni Consumer Products will take the dreariness of having to make decisions out of your hands for you!

[marmar]

3. I first opened my bank account in college at Michigan National Bank.....

..... Michigan National Bank became Standard Federal Bank. Standard Federal was swallowed by LaSalle Bank, part of the ABN Amro empire. Then Bank of America took it over.
I have to look at my ATM card just to figure out what bank I have my account at these days.

[rwheeler31]

7. Wow Michigan National

My mom used to ask me to help her take her money out of the bank across the street and put it in that bank.

[DJ13]

4. I hate it when you find a good bank that responds to their customers

.....only to see it get bought by a large bank that only sees you as an account number.

[CrazyLate]

5. Choice is overrated.

Besides, with all the bank consolidations, it will be much easier to track what you spend your money on.

[JustID]

6. I worked for one bank through three names.

I went to work for a very large bank in Chicago, called First Chicago.
After a little while, they merged with National Bank Of Detroit, becoming First Chicago NBD
Just a little later, BankOne came along, buying the mess of them, including LaSalle to make MEGA Bank One

That was THREE years!

Want to know what they are now? Chase bank. No FirstChicago. No NBD, no Bank One.

When I started, (Im a network guy) I covered a warehouse as one of my locations. They had a archives. The bank was very old. Had printed its own money in the way back. They had signature cards of past presidents, and dignitary. It seems a loss, even just in the name.

T

[rzemanfl]

8. Moved to Florida in '96. Barnett, Huntington, SunTrust. eom

[tritsofme]

9. I'm on my third bank in three years.

MidAmerica > National City > PNC

[BrklynLiberal]

10. Let's see. I started at Mfrs-Hanover, which became Chemical, which became Chase.

My savings account was at a local bank in my neighborhood. It has changed hands so often that my account in a totally different bank got merged into the one that I opened at my neighborhood bank.


This relatively new bank opened here in NYC..Commerce..Long hours, open 7 days a week..free and easy change counter and cash giver. Dog bisquits and free pens, etc.. Within 1 year it had become TD Bank..and all the red trimmings are now green. When I walked into the bank right after it changed, I thought I had gotten lost and walked into the wrong bank.

[The River]

One Account - One "Bank" - 35 Years

Actually a state university credit union.
It went from 1 branch in 1970's and grew to 10 now.
Good rates, good terms, good service, no fees.
Can't go wrong with a good CU.

[DeSwiss]

11. Well, I've stopped having to make those annoying decisions long ago...

...because I opened a "blue book" savings account (which then paid 5% interest I might add). My dad had taken me to his bank since I'd just gotten a part-time dishwasher's job and he thought I should learn to save (heh, how quaint). This was back in 1965 at the Commerce Union Bank. This bank lasted for quite a while by today's standards.

But they were subsequently bought-out by Sovereign Bank in 1988.

And Sovereign Bank was later bought-out by Nations Bank in 1995.

And as Nations Bank eventually became the 900 lb. gorilla of banks it absorbed everything in its path. Nation Bank later absorbed Bank America of CA in 1998 and I suppose in a pique of inspiration then changed their name to the gaping maw now known as The Bank O' America.

- And no one's ever asked me if it was okay to do any of this. And yes, I'm still steamed....

[SoCalDem]

12. I worked at this cool bank ..still looked pretty much like this too.. It;s now Horizon Bank

cool slide show



History

In 1873, Horizon Bank was founded in Michigan City, Indiana - a small settlement on a sand hill at the southeastern tip of Lake Michigan. The city's early leaders were able to turn sand into prosperity by selling it to glass manufacturers, starting Michigan City on the road to economic growth and development. Throughout the last six generations, Horizon Bank has grown and evolved along with the city, providing comprehensive financial services and community activism.

The Bank received its original charter in April of 1873 as "First National Bank." By the turn of the century, the Bank had brought the "gold standard" to customer service in banking by opening the first-ever "drive-up window" to protect the payroll of gold coins that local railroad industrialist John H. Barker used to pay his employees.

The Bank's assets were well secured behind a soundproof, 12-ton vault door long before the notorious bank robber John Dillinger became a threat to financial institutions across Northwest Indiana. When Dillinger became the nation's Public Enemy No. 1, the Bank also mounted a World War I rifle to a rail in the Director's office above the bank lobby and teller lines for additional protection.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, 10,000 of the nation's 25,000 banks failed, including two of Michigan City's five financial institutions, but the Bank remained solvent and continued to prosper.

In 1962, the Bank merged with another local financial institution, Merchants National Bank (founded in 1909), to become First-Merchants National Bank. In 1986, the Bank merged with Citizen's Bank (founded in 1888) to become First Citizens Bank. The Bank was renamed Horizon Bank in 1997.

A banking innovator and community leader, Horizon has instituted many "firsts" in the industry during its 130 + year history, including:

* Indiana's first automobile drive-up and customer walk-up service windows in 1955
* The first Automated Teller Machine in Indiana in 1974