Monday, January 18, 2010

Goodbye Barnes Banking Co.

This weekend Barnes Banking Co. aka Barnes Bank closed its doors. After 119 years of business the bank is no more. Where does that leave us here in Utah or the Weber County? Barnes has a branch in South Ogden, as well as a many other places, so this story does hit close to home. Through this event I have realized two things: First, the devastating greed that caused the current financial mess is not isolated only to Wall Street but to Utah as well. Second, the economic woes of the country are just beginning to hit our state and more is to come; therefore we need to me prepared than ever.

The FDIC projects losses will reach $271 Million from the failure of Barnes. These kinds of losses can cripple a community and my heart goes out to the people of Kaysville. I was there first hand watching people coming out, with only $500 of the maximum Saturday withdrawal, wondering what they were going to do next. I saw people boxing their office up and talking about the past 20 years of their life and how they had nowhere to go. What is next? The FDIC will take over for the next 30 days allowing people to pull out their money and then they are gone forever, leaving many without a job and huge hit to our economy.

Folks, you know where I work. I work for a credit union. But never before have I seen a bigger need for people to move their finances to somewhere safe. Credit Unions are non-profit, meaning our primary goal is to make the member [customer] money. Our profits go back to the member in the form of low rates, higher interest; not to mention a 7 percent bonus dividend that we paid this year. At a credit union, you own the financial institution. You get a vote, as a shareholder, on how things should be done.

Though I am inviting you all to come to Goldenwest Credit Union; my real purpose for this post is to bring to light how horrible this bank failure is to our community and how irresponsible this bank has been in letting it happen. I feel the worst is not over in Utah and we must be prepared. If your financial institution isn’t in the top 10 percent in financial strength or isn’t highly rated on websites like bankrate.com, then it is time to move.

Other posts of interest:

http://www.abc4.com/content/news/state/story/Barnes-Bank-shuts-down-Zions-Bank-to-assist/roQDUnceIkWHAzhNcEVpjQ.cspx?rss=1451

http://www.fruitheightsfriends.com/2010/01/barnes-bank-closes-after-119-years-in-business/

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-392710

http://cuesskybox.typepad.com/nexus_connection/2010/01/go-get-em-goldenwest.html


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