Originally Posted By: Tdbo
It comes down to your objective. For me, it is best service at lowest possible cost.
I shop banks every two years. I have been with PNC for seven years. While not crazy about them, they are the best deal going for my needs, they are even better then the local CU's that I have shopped. My backup plan is Huntington, who offer similar benefits. Our HELOC is with Third Federal Savings in Cleveland. They not only have the best deals in rates, etc, they will meet or beat deals from other banks (took advantage of that the first draw period, Just redid our line this year.)
My IRA's and 403b's are handled through my fee based CFP.
I was with a local small town bank for nineteen years. When I went there, there was an advantage. You got service. If there was a problem, managers followed up with you to make sure that you were happy. That generation retired and/or passed on. When all the benefits and perks dried up and I was told by a snot-nosed teller that if I could find a better deal go there, I did. That bank was recently sold to a conglomerate.
Anymore, it's a business decision.
I tend to agree with this. I've dealt with all of them and originally, the CUs did provide better service and frequently, rates. Many used loan committees that were made up from other members. They tended to be a bit more understanding of credit issues. One of the problems though, is over the past 10 years or so, many CUs have merged or been taken over. In doing so, many have become not much different than large banks. Also, many of the local people lost their jobs. It happened with ours and service became horrible. These days, I shop service, rates and convenience. I handle all my non-pension retirement investments myself.