Silent "Bank Run"??

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Surveys indicate that a significant number of people are going into the new year with "cash". Considering the state of personal savings today, where might one assume this cash would come from?...Cash advances on credit cards or ATM machines or where...could this be a silent "Bank Run" and if so, what might be the repercussions. I wonder if the financial institutions have contemplated this scenario. (ie. if this is the catastrophe that it has been hyped, then, I don't care if I'm not able to pay it back) This mindset might become more prevalent as we get closer to 2000. It would not surprise me to see credit lines reduced and ATM withdrawals modified.Any thoughts??

-- Larry (Rampon@cyberramp.net), October 06, 1999

Answers

I think you are right Larry, whenever I go to the bank to cash checks, I always get cash back and I always get weird looks from the teller and a couple questions asked about the money. I think we will start seeing ATM machines down forcing you to go inside the bank during banking hours. They may make up some excuse and say they have limited cash on hand until the "armored car," shows up. Those cash advances on credit cards is an EXPENSIVE way to go, but push comes to shove people are going to get their hands on cash anyway they can. Don't forget about credit unions, our credit union is tightening up. I use to get flyers all the time for car and home loans. I haven't seen one of those in a couple of months now, and I haven't seen anything on their smiley Y2K readiness. I have talked to several people who have already taken their savings out and I as we get closer to December 31, it's going to get a lot more serious. I doubt if we will hear much about it on the news, but we will know that something is up when banks start cutting back on giving out cash. I think the word is out to the media to keep it LOW KEY.

-- watching it all (watchingitall@watchingitalll.xcom), October 06, 1999.

Cash -- withdraw early and withdraw often.
To repeat a tip others have posted. Conserve small denomination currency and change; pay more by credit card or check. When paying cash, don't give exact change; get change back. Break down larger bills into smaller; and some of the smaller bill into change. Get cash back when you cash checks at bank or grocery store....

-- A (A@AisA.com), October 06, 1999.

But buy your shovels and PVC pipe to bury it with, WITH CASH.

-- A (A@AisA.com), October 06, 1999.

Friends at work are telling me they are borrowing against their 401K to pay off debts...and holding something in reserve...but no one mentions Y2K.. They (I) have and are withdrawing small sums, OFTEN, hoping it will go unnoticed. The ATM's (in the building where I work) have NO cash to dispense as early as 10:00am.. in the past months the machines usually gave you the option to withdraw 10's or 20's until about 1PM or so, and later in the day (when the 10's are gone)you could only withdraw in increments of $20.00. Now they are empty!! I am forced to go to the teller.

-- Watching (lurking@the.edge), October 06, 1999.

I think you are right Larry, whenever I go to the bank to cash checks, I always get cash back and I always get weird looks from the teller and a couple questions asked about the money.

Same here. The tellers get all weird when I go to the bank to cash a check and ask for the money in cash. "You want to cash this check and get the money in CASH???" they exclaim. Then they ask me questions about how I'm going to use it, where I'm going to spend it, why I'm taking it out, if there are any family problems at home, if I'm hoarding food and medicine, and what my political affiliation is. Then I have to fill out a 16 page application form, get it notarized, submit blood and urine samples, and perform a singing duet with the branch manager. When the teller put on the rubber glove and told me to drop my pants, I ran for the door and told them they could keep their lousy fifty bucks.

-- (watchingme@watching.you), October 06, 1999.



I've encountered little problem when I go to the credit union to cash a (small) check here on Kaua'i...but I know all the tellers. I've also had no problem with ready-tellers...

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), October 06, 1999.

BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD

-- Buy Gold (gold@bugs.here), October 06, 1999.

Watching me--ROTFLMAO! That was FUNNY! But ain't it the truth! As for credit unions, ours is 200 miles away, and if you want any kind of service, it's all via mail. Looks like I'll have to clean out my account here pretty quick!

-- watching it all (watchingtingitall@watchingitallll.xcom), October 07, 1999.

In many cases, these "silent bank runs" are happening because, rather than depositing an entire paycheck or the entire daily receipts from a small business, people are only depositing PART of it and taking the rest back in cash.

If I walk up to a teller with a $1000 payroll check and ask for $500 back in cash, the net effect to the bank is as if I'd deposited the entire $1000 and then walked up to an ATM later that same day and withdrew $500.

Either way, the bank doesn't get as much of your money to play with. Being fun-loving people who like to play (with your money), they don't much care for that.

-- I'm Here, I'm There (I'm Everywhere@so.beware), October 07, 1999.


My husband was recently at the bank getting cash. The bank was out of $1's and $10's. The guy behind him said the same bank a couple of miles away was also out...and sent him to this branch.... It's happening, guys.

-- Have Cash (seeingithappen@ohsh.com), October 07, 1999.


Maybe I live in a different world than most of you, but I have no reason to get cash from my bank. I keep most of the cash I am paid when I receive it for goods I sell, and when need more cash, I just go to one of many friends who have businesses which deal in cash and ask them to cash a check for me. My wife always gets cash at the grocery store when she buys food and writes the check for more than the amount and gets cash back. We have no need to use the ATM machine and do not cash checks when we make deposits. All of our cash has been obtained in a totally untraceable way. My banker (and the government) has no idea that I am "hoarding" cash. I think it is stupid to obtain cash in a way that is traceable by the government. That is just asking for trouble.

-- chicken farmer (chicken-farmer@ y2k.farm), October 07, 1999.

Chicken Farmer, Please make an appointment at your local office at your earliest convenience.

-- Friendly Agent (Internal@Revenue.Service), October 07, 1999.

Sadly, I run into the inevitable truth: You need to have cash in the bank in order to withdraw it. *sigh*

Just nickles and dimes now.

Tim

-- Tim the Y2K nut (tmiley@yakko.cs.wmich.edu), October 07, 1999.


Chicken Farmer, Please make an appointment at your local office at your earliest convenience.

-- Friendly Agent (Internal@Revenue.Service), October 07, 1999.

That's OUR earliest convenience! Move it!

-- Friendly Agent's Supervisor (Internal@Revenue.Service), October 07, 1999.


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