Heads up! Credit Union in CA to limit cash withdrawal to $500 starting Dec.15

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This is reliable source, a good friend in the San Francisco Bay area told me she just received a notice from her credit union, saying that "beginning Dec. 15-31, 1999, customers would have to fill out a form reserving cash withdrawal of $500 maximum..." She is a totally reliable person with no reason to lie to me. The name is Federal credit union in San Francisco. They have branches in CA. She ain't that dumb, she has been withdrawing cash, finished by Dec. 14. Anyone received a similar statement? I read at I think a post at Michael Hyatt site that an officer of Wells Fargo told this poster privately that if there's a panic, they will limit it to $1,000 withdrawal. This has not been confirmed independently.

Also, a good friend who is a top officer ( I'd rather not give his name) of a respected medium size bank in CA. have assured me that their bank is totally fixed and tested repeatedly. If there should be a run on the banks, they plan to keep the doors open and let people withdraw as much as they want. He feels that to limit the amount sends the wrong signal. But if they let customers freely withdraw, he thinks people will stop panicing. What do you think? I also think the international big banks which do business with Japan and other foreign nations may end up having more problems and likelihood of errors than some small to medium size banks which has newer computers and which have no branches overseas. But I could be wrong.



-- Watchman (watchman@watchforyou.com), November 28, 1999

Answers

Just heard on Drudge that the ABA has announced that banks nationwide will be open on New Year's Day. An ABA spokesman said, "it is a gesture of comfort."

-- (RUOK@yesiam.com), November 28, 1999.

This was announced by "First Calgary Savings Bank" in the end of Oct./'99, and referenced by Dr.North:
(click here for a direct link)

Thinking about withdrawing extra cash for the Y2K transition?

We recommend you prepare for the year-end as you would any other long weekend and keep as much cash as you will require for the holiday period. In the interest of personal safety we may limit daily cash withdrawals.

It is important to note First Calgary Savings' cash supply will be dictated by the amount of Canadian currency made available by the Bank of Canada. To ensure your needs are met, we ask that additional withdrawals for Canadian currency, related to Y2K, be made by December 8, 1999. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee the availability of Canadian currency after December 8, 1999 and you may be asked to accept 'no cost' cash alternatives (i.e. travelers' cheques, money orders, drafts).
Link: http://www.1stcalgary.com/where/main.html

Click on the first hotlink in my post and read the comments.
The Banks' proposition is for real, and should be incorporated into one's immediate plans of preparation. :)

-- faith'nhope (y2kaos@home.com), November 28, 1999.


Call your bank anonymously check how quick do they have to give your money from from a checking account? savings account? What circumstances and under whose authority could this be changed?

-- squid (Itsdark@down.here), November 28, 1999.

Amused by "He feels that to limit the amount sends the wrong signal." I know he meant well, but might that signal be that we don't have the currency to cover the e-cash in our accounts? Just wonderin' out loud.

-- Hokie (nn@va.com), November 29, 1999.

Thansk for the post, Watchman. I'm interested in your friend's assertion that his bank would limit withdrawals "if there should be a run". I think he's 100% correct in realising that the best way to START a run would be to publically announce limits, but has he really considered the situation where a run is already in progress? Still, kudos for his intentions.

-- Colin MacDonald (roborogerborg@yahoo.com), November 29, 1999.


faithnhope,

Looks like they changed their mind about the December 8 thing, it is not on the web page.

-- cash (no@such.thing), November 29, 1999.


Cash, I see that. Thanks.
I womder if it was because Gary North had made a point of it (being on their home page), and one or more of his readers contacted the bank and they removed it (or, gasp, a bank employee reads GN's pages!).
Also, the way the public's concerns have been quashed by media reports may have contributed to the bank's decision to make that plan public/ not public, meaning less of a threat of silly people actually wanting their own money from the bank.

I'm sure it's still part of their policy, if need be...

-- faith'nhope (y2kaos@home.com), November 29, 1999.


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