PASADENA, Calif., Aug 01, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- On Friday, August 1, 2008, IndyMac Bancorp, the former holding company of IndyMac Bank filed for bankruptcy protection under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code (Title 11, Chapter 7 U.S.C). This action has no effect on the operations of IndyMac Federal Bank, FSB, which came into existence on July 11, 2008, when IndyMac Bank was removed from its holding company, IndyMac Bancorp, and IndyMac Federal Bank was placed into conservatorship by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Other than a similarity of name, IndyMac Federal Bank has no relationship, nor does it share any employees, with IndyMac Bancorp.
Indymac Federal Savings Bank Press Release:
PASADENA, Calif., Aug 01, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- On Friday, August 1, 2008, IndyMac Bancorp, the former holding company of IndyMac Bank filed for bankruptcy protection under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code (Title 11, Chapter 7 U.S.C). This action has no effect on the operations of IndyMac Federal Bank, FSB, which came into existence on July 11, 2008, when IndyMac Bank was removed from its holding company, IndyMac Bancorp, and IndyMac Federal Bank was placed into conservatorship by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Other than a similarity of name, IndyMac Federal Bank has no relationship, nor does it share any employees, with IndyMac Bancorp.
Of IndyMac Bancorp's bankruptcy filing, IndyMac Federal Bank CEO John Bovenzi said, "The announcement by the former holding company of IndyMac Bank has no impact on IndyMac Federal Bank or its customers. Our customers will continue to receive the same value and personal service they have come to expect from IndyMac, which, due to its FDIC backing is one of the safest banks in America and a great place for our customers to keep their funds."
IndyMac Federal Bank remains under the FDIC's conservatorship and, as such, is backed by the FDIC's approximately $53 billion deposit insurance fund, which is further backstopped by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. IndyMac Federal Bank is one of the safest banks in America and its customers should know that today's news has no effect on them, their deposits or their relationship with IndyMac Federal Bank. The FDIC's stated goal is to return the bank to the private ownership of safe and sound financial institutions within the next three months.
WaMu now offers an online savings account with 4% APY.
On September 23, 2008, WaMu has raised their online savings rate to 4%, which is the best online savings offer with no minimum balance.
To get the 4% savings account you will need to first open a free checking account and then link the savings account to it. This can all be done together online.
Washington Mutual, however, is a very troubled institution and is considered by many to be unlikely to survive. Depositors are therefore reminded that especially in this case to keep deposits below FDIC limits.
Please note that WaMu has not adjusted all of the copy on its site and may still be listing the rate as 3.75% APY in some places.
Online banking has been a hit with Gen X consumers but not so much so with Gen Y. Why? Most likely because Gen Y (15-29 year olds) don't have the money to make it interesting. Would you be interested in logging in to see a balance of $200? How much can you really do if you don't have the funds yet to actively manage?
This, of course, makes me wonder about the future of services like Mint.com. How can online banking on steroids really take route if plain old online banking isn't being embraced by the most plugged-in generation?
Maybe all of this will change once Gen Y start to accumulate their own money. But I think by then, there will be new services competing for their dollars.
