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Countrywide Bank SavingsLink and Money Market AccountsLast Update: July 3, 2008
Times were good for Countrywide Financial Corporation (the parent company of Countrywide Bank) during the recent real estate boom. As one of the largest home loan originators in the country, Countrywide raked in the money.
But Countrywide's fortunes changed in 2007 when subprime borrowers defaulted on their loans on a massive scale. The losses piled-up and brought Countrywide to the brink of bankruptcy.
In Comes Bank of America
Thanks to Bank of America's agreement to purchase Countrywide which was announced on January 11, 2008, and completed on July 1, 2008, the danger of the lender going under may have passed.
The Bank of America purchase is both a blessing and a curse to savers. On the positive side, Bank of America is well capitalized. This gives Countrywide Bank customers a sense of safety from insolvency that they didn't have before the purchase agreement.
On the other hand, when high risk goes away, so does the reward. Countrywide Bank had offered some of the highest rates available on money market accounts and CDs to attract desperately needed funds. Now that the bank isn't so needy, expect rates on deposit accounts to fall. After the purchase is complete and Bank of America gains control of Countrywide, expect rates to fall hard. Bank of America, after all, is not known for high rates.
About Countrywide Bank
Countrywide Bank, FSB, was launched on May 17, 2001, following the acquisition of Treasury Bank. Treasury Bank has been serving customers since August 1990.
Countrywide Bank isn't low balance friendly. It takes a minimum balance of $1,000 to open a savings or money market account. It takes $10,000 to earn a great yield on the SavingsLink account and $50,000 on the Money Market account.
SavingsLinkThe SavingsLink account is Countrywide Bank's online savings account. This account features typical online savings account features such as no monthly fee or minimum balance requirements. Bank transfers to your current checking account are free and are done by “linking” that checking account to SavingsLink with Countrywide's online banking system. You can link up to five accounts. Minimum deposit to open is $1,000.
Money MarketThe main advantage of the Money Market account over the SavingsLink account is that it comes with checks (the initial check package is free) and an ATM card. Cash can be withdrawn from any ATM that is part of the Star, Plus, and Cirrus networks. Although Countrywide Bank does not charge a fee for withdrawals using an ATM, some ATM owners will charge you a fee.
Don't get withdrawal happy. You must keep a balance of at least $1,000 during the statement cycle to avoid a $10 service charge. Minimum deposit to open is $1,000.
The Money Market account does not use the linked account system to transfer funds to your accounts at another bank.
Both accounts have withdrawal limits of up to six per statement cycle. Going over that limit will result in a $15 excess transactions fee.
Countrywide Bank has performed hard credit pulls during account opening in the past, however, some customers have said that their credit report wasn't checked.
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