Wachovia NYC bank branch and TV crew

Wachovia NYC bank branch and Fox TV crew

Wachovia bank branch, NYC

I went into my local Wachovia branch this morning. A Fox News TV crew was already positioned outside. There were only 3-4 customers inside, conducting, from I could discreetly gather, normal transactions.

I asked the guy at the Customer Service desk if 1) he had any news about a merger/government take-over, and 2) the merger/take-over takes place, what happens to checking account funds, in terms of checks written on existing accounts. Will there be any delay in the checks being honored? [I have a checking account with them, one I use to pay monthly bills with.]

I was told that there are no news and that, after repeating question #2 a few times, and I paraphrase, "Don't worry, the government will take care of you. The government won't let anything happen to your/the bank's deposits."

Seeing how Citigroup has already, you know, taken over Wachovia, and also how babies who need to be patted on the head and told that Daddy G will take care of them are not, traditionally, a bank's customer base, the information provided by the bank employee was useless.

Bottom line: Not providing customers with basic, accurate information is not exactly a winning strategy in these turbulent financial times.