Citigroup profits up 74%, Wells Fargo up 21%
 

Thank goodness banks will soon start charging debit card customers. I was concerned about their profitability for a moment.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Wells-...39940.html?x=0
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Citigr...75547.html?x=0

Tired of fees? Support local credit unions.

Citi released $1.4 billion in bank reserves and called it income lol. Actual income, their earnings would have been $0.16 per share vs their reported earnings of $1.23. They're not doing good at all.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/citi-e...on-or-016share

I was gonna say "Up 74% compared to what? Last year or the year before that?".

Whatever. It's all numbers on a page and they move them around to make themselves feel better.

It's a crime how the banks counted charging people overdraft fees as "revenue" and now say that with new regulations that they are losing BILLIONS of dollars in that "revenue". :(

So now they are nickel and diming people.

The joke's on them though.

I personally am closing 5 bank accounts and going down to just one big account with one savings account. So my entire "new fees" will be only $3 to be able to use my debit card.

And all those other accounts that they talked me into opening are now closed.

My guess is that millions of other people are now doing the same thing.

I just opened an account at a bank here, Metro Bank. They will not be charging to use their debit cards next year or at anytime.

I have Bank of America and cant fucking stand them. If I dont drop them, I will be dinged $20/mo in debit card fees across my accounts... fuck that!

Sorry Robbie, but it definitely is NOT a crime. They can charge everybody a million dollars for each transaction if they want to. If you don't want to pay such silly fees, DON'T DO BUSINESS WITH THEM. Unlike Government, banks cannot use force to make you do business with them.


Just sayin.


.:2 cents:

I agree...the word "crime" was just a figure of speech.

Problem is...it's a lot like buying gasoline. All of the gas stations are gouging us so I can't take my business to a cheaper one.

My understanding is that all the banks are going to be doing this. So the giant headache of closing my business account and then opening a new one isn't feasible.

And anybody who has opened a biz account since The Patriot Act knows how they do an anal probe of you.
When I moved here to Vegas in 2008 I couldn't believe how damn difficult it was to simply open a business account.

I had the same account since 1999 before...but getting a new one was a real pain. I had to go to govt. offices and get a copy of all my business filing paperwork before they would even open it!

And then they grilled me with questions that in my opinion are none of their damn business.

I walked out of Bank Of America here when I tried to open an account. I was standing there with $45,000 in my hand to open the account and they were so rude and pushy that I walked.

Finally opened up one at Wells Fargo. But it was still a pain.

So yeah...IF a major bank will break away from the pack and start treating it's customers good again I would go with them. But no...right now there aren't many options.

And I"m not yet ready to try a Credit Union. I don't know enough about them.

Get edu-ma-cated bro... http://www.firstent.org
Best move you will ever make.

free market in action. don't like it, move to cuba. :2 cents:

Isn't this one of the banks that received bail out money?

Is that a "safe" place to bank?
You're right...I'm ignorant when it comes to these matters.

What do you know about a bank that you don't know about a credit union? Or what concerns you about a credit union? I'm sure someone here will know the answer.

They offer the same FDIC protection.

Okay...but this sounds dumb.

If they both do the same thing...then why is one a "bank" and one a "credit union"?
And why doesn't every company and everyone take their money out of "banks" and put it in "credit unions"?

I guess I'm shy of it because it all sounds too good to be true.

Wiki says it best: A credit union is a cooperative financial institution that is owned and controlled by its members and operated for the purpose of promoting thrift, providing credit at competitive rates, and providing other financial services to its members.[1][2][3] Many credit unions exist to further community development[4] or sustainable international development on a local level.[5]

The idea is that your money will be spread around locally to local businesses, charities, etc... improving your community instead of going to a national or international bank where your money is used who knows where. Smaller also allows them to be a little more competitive in some areas and also have better customer service. You might not get all of the same perks as a national bank.

Credit unions are so much better than banks. Even the way the tellers treat me when I go in. I love mine.

They offer all the same things my bank did, but also cash back on my debit card, discount tickets to the zoo, amusement park, etc. They are on a nationwide ATM network called Co-Op, so ATMs at 7-11s and tons of other places are free.

and the muther fuckers are raising fees

+1 on credit unions. Your experiences mirror mine at my local credit union here in Minneapolis.

I used to bank at TCF until they announced they were going to be starting a monthly fee. I left right after the announcement and made sure to tell them why.

We just switched back to a credit union. I asked to get their schedule of fees. Their response "we have no fees". :) I like that.

If a bank eaked out $100 profit last year and this year they squeezed by worth a total profit of $174, that would be a 74% increase. It's a worthless measure. What matters is return on equity. If I as a stockholder invest $1000 and I make $400 profit on that $1000 in one year, that's a really high profit. If for every $1000 in equity profit is $10, that sucks and after inflation the business has lost money. Look at the return on equity or PE ratio to see which companies are making money. Your can find it easily by searching their stock symbol, as it's a hugely important number.

Single year returns also aren't terribly important. In many industries, such as oil, cars, and agriculture, any single year is either boom or bust. A farmer will make good money in good weather years while losing money in drought years. Look at a ten year average to see useful numbers.

Guys, I think I'm going to go talk to a credit union and close my bank account.

Dumb question but are there national credit unions? Or they are all localized?

Let us know how that goes. I've always felt banks are better served for business or wealthier customers. Credit unions feel like they are better for the little guys. Kind of luck republicans vs democrats in a weird way. But not.

I've never heard a single positive thing about Bank of America, but I hear plenty of people talking about the negative, is it one of those any publicity is good publicity kind of things? Why do so many people use this bank?

I ended up using them in the 1990's when they bought Nations Bank. One day I was with Nations Bank...the next day it was Bank Of America. lol

Credit unions are non-profit. Every account holder is a owner. They charge just enough to operate ... profits are not part of the equation with them.