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Watch Out For Countrywide Bank

Posted on November 19th, 2007 9:46am by Wick Allison
Filed under Business

Yesterday Countrywide Bank, the subsidiary of the troubled mortgage lender, ran an ad in the News offering 5.4% on $10,000 certificates. Sounds good, right? Maybe too good. On November 9, my mother had a Countrywide CD come due. She went in to the Preston Branch to collect it. The Preston Branch has no cash on hand, nor can it issue a check. So they told her “Fort Worth” would put a check in the mail. As of today, no check. Developing…

9 Comments to “Watch Out For Countrywide Bank”

Jack Jett @ November 19th, 2007 at 10:12 am

I have a couple of bucks tied up with these guys and called them about this. They are saying that it takes five biz days to get the check.

Please keep us posted on this. Two things that really bum me out, Moms getting ripped off and me gettng ripped off.

jack jett
Michael Davis @ November 19th, 2007 at 11:06 am

However, the FDIC doesn’t have to return all of your money right away…right? Don’t they technically have years and years to repay?

(asking someone in the banking industry that reads FB)
Julie @ November 19th, 2007 at 12:09 pm

Wow, that’s scary. They have heavily promoted that CD and rate on Bankrate.com for the last 4–5 weeks. I was tempted by it, but I have a friend working over there who told me “don’t do it.”
John Guilford @ November 19th, 2007 at 2:14 pm

I have used Countrywide for over a year. Rather than the CD, I have used their Savingslink account which pays almost as high as a CD, yet you can pull any amount of money in or out of it overnight electronically. I have had zero problems with it. 5.30% currently with a $10k minimum. Please, let’s not start a run on the bank with panic stories.
David @ November 20th, 2007 at 12:48 pm

You guys need to chill out. The reason Countrywide Bank can offer CD’s at much higher rates is because they don’t follow the traditional banking model. No cash on hand means no cost to secure it at the “Bank”. Simmer down, you’ll get your check in the mail just as I did when I requested to close my CD.
James @ November 20th, 2007 at 12:51 pm

sorry chicken little (wick)- keeping buying/selling fear. Not one single branch carries cash due to their model and charter. that has always been the case even when she opened the cd.
steve @ November 20th, 2007 at 1:00 pm

countrywide bank is the 3rd largest federal savings bank in the nation and fdic insured… do your research son
k @ November 20th, 2007 at 4:05 pm

Rumors are the Countrywide is declaring BK this afternoon.
Tom Piotroski @ April 12th, 2008 at 10:07 am

April 12th still no matured CD check after more than two and a half weeks. They claim check sent out, then claim it’s lost in the mail, then want notarized affidavit saying I did not receice the check. Sounds reasonable except I know of another person getting the same runaround. Do you know of anyone also getting the lost in the mail routine???