more knoxville advice: banks?

[jfm]

i'm gonna need to open a checking account next week. i was with first american/amsouth when i lived there before, which is now something else, but so i'm just wondering if anyone has particular recommendations. i'm somewhat sympathetic to the local-banking movement, but i don't know what those options are. home federal? anyway. your tips or horror stories welcomed. i'm most interested in someplace with a decent array of ATMs, minimum fees and a downtown branch.

[Hildegard]

I bank at Home Fed but they're just OK. I mean, they've never pissed me off or screwed anything up, but their services are pretty limited, and I would not consider myself somebody who needs lots of services but I've been surprised at the features I'd like to have that other banks offer and they don't.

A friend of mine really likes Regions, but I have no experience with that bank other than my friend is pretty smart and knows about banks.

Edit: my experience with First American was a horror show of banking incompetence, fwiw. I don't know if AmSouth was any better.

[Hank IV]

CBBC if your downtown is Murvul. I love 'em. Overdraft? Phone from home office call to say "You need to come in, honey, before 3 to cover that."

[lynnpoint]

AmSouth became Regions. I bank with them. They do all I need. Lots of ATM's in town as well as a lot of branches.

[jfm]

yeah i never had any problems with amsouth. of course all i needed them to do was not lose my money, and it's not like there was much of it anyway. their (or, i guess, regions') downtown office is awfully convenient to where i'll be working.

[KO]

Regions has free popcorn in the lobby on Fridays. I deposit checks there once a week. Guess which day I choose.

[Hildegard]

Plus, the true urbanites of downtown Ktown consider banking at Home Fed to be the moral equivalent of shopping at Turkey Creek, since that whole fiasco with the downtown branch. You need to think about your reputation.

[jfm]

home federal is a fine downtown advertiser. i mean, institution.

but anyway, regions will be most convenient, so barring any reason not to go there that'll probably be it.

[Scott Barker]

I'm assuming you'd qualify to be a member of the KNS Credit Union, but they only have one office and it ain't downtown no more.

[binR Bishop]

Get thee to a credit union. The TVA credit union is open to anybody (I'm pretty sure) and they have offices all over town (including downtown). I've had my $$ there since 1982 and always had excellent service.

I'm one of those who has never forgiven Home Federal for the Sprankle. Please don't go there.

[earlnemo]

If online banking is important to you, be sure and check out their software as part of your research.

I was a Valley Bank'er who got folded into First Tennessee and stayed with them until I had to separate funds with the last departing wife. I thought wanted a national bank I could transact with while traveling and ended up going with Bank of America. Their online banking software is the best I've seen. However, I became dissatisfied with their corporate gotcha fees & bullshit and reopened with First Tennessee, only to discover that their online banking had gotten even suckier, plus they do not have a single atm downtown except the one locked in the lobby of the Butcher Building (Jake's or CH's?).

I still keep the BOA account open to pay bills and do all my insundry transactions with FT.

[Rocky Hillian]

I wouldn't disregard a Credit Union. We have use UTFCU for most of our time in Knoxville. They are very easy to work with, we don't have any complaints. They may not have many ATM's with their own logo on it, but you can use any Credit Union ATM in the region (maybe country) with no fees. Their online banking may not be the cleanest interface, but it is simple and stable.

[Hayduke]

I've been using BoA for decades (or at least since they bought out the bank that bought out my bank), but I'd like to change to something smaller. Online bill pay (particularly the automatic kind) is about the only 'service' I care about, so I'd hate to lose that.

Home Federal, our hometown destroying bank, is not on the list. I'd support a resolution requiring a copy of this, or the article Jack wrote before HF made that big hole where an irreplaceable building was, posted on all entrances to the bank headquarters:

http://www.metropulse.com/news/2005/mar/31/the-sprankle-rip/

[Michael]

However, I became dissatisfied with their corporate gotcha fees & bullshit and reopened with First Tennessee, only to discover that their online banking had gotten even suckier, plus they do not have a single atm downtown except the one locked in the lobby of the Butcher Building (Jake's or CH's?).
That one was Jake's. But FWIW, the leftmost front door is never locked. You go by the guard station on the way in.
~m.

[pages]

I use a credit union. Love it. I support BinR's vote or Rocky H's.

[Randall]

I've been absolutely happy with my credit union all the way.

[lynnpoint]

Regions online banking is good. And just for sheer convenience, you would be hard put to find any, ahem, region, in town that doesn't have either a branch or an ATM machine. I am a member of UTFCU as well from my Fort daze. I personally am not crazy about their online banking but overall they work pretty good. Not sure about the ATM's since I just use Regions for that.

Unless there is some ethical or political reason to avoid them, ala the whole Home Federal ordeal, and given the fact that you work downtown, Regions would seem hard to beat I would think.

I can't help but think this is one thread where Diletantte Dude would weigh in pretty heavily. WWDDD.

[earlnemo]

But FWIW, the leftmost front door is never locked. You go by the guard station on the way in.
~m.


!!! Brooke never told me that!

[Sappho]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/move-your-money-a-new-yea_b_406022.html

A credit union is a good choice.

I use Tennessee State Bank on Chapman Hwy. It's a small bank but has served my needs well since 1993. I, like Earlnemo, was a Valley Banker. Hated the move to First Tennessee. Switched immediately when Tn State moved into the old Valley Bank building. Small bank, great personal service.
The biggest drawback for some people is not having locations everywhere. But they have opened new branches around town. Never been a problem for me.
http://www.tnstatebank.com/

[jeffx]

i'm at enrichment fcu. switched from suntrust last year, haven't regretted it for a second.

[promateur]

TVACU has the best service, and fewest trick charges. Checking is free and online stuff works well.

[Hayduke]

TVACU has the best service, and fewest trick charges. Checking is free and online stuff works well.

Can you issue checks and set up automatic payments to recipients not on a list? I'd hate for people to be dependent on me finding a stamp so they can get their money.

[Sappho]

Can you issue checks and set up automatic payments to recipients not on a list? I'd hate for people to be dependent on me finding a stamp so they can get their money.

You can at Tn State Bank. And it's free.

[CAFKIA]

Count me as another vote for TVA Credit Union.

[James]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/move-your-money-a-new-yea_b_406022.html
]I'm glad you posted that.

Don't forget ORNL and I think Green Bank is a community bank. I agree CBBC is good. They have a branch in West Knoxville.

[relentless1]

Another vote for TVA CU. I've been with them 9 years. Online banking, billpay, and great customer service.

[xm]

Count me in with TVACU. I have been a member since 1979. Cash from ATM's at other CU's is no charge. Great online banking with bill pay.

[Ton Up Audio]

Victor, Jeff, and Britney down at BBT Bearden make it the best bank I've ever done business with. The few times I've had a problem they got it fixed immediately.

[zoomfactor]

I don't think I could ever bank at Home Federal either because of the Sprankle fiasco. Remember this artist's rendition of what it could have looked like? RIP

http://www.oldnorthknoxville.org/images/sprankle%20lovingly%20preserved.jpg

Cool detail of a Sprankle gargoyle from Metro Pulse:

http://www.oldnorthknoxville.org/images/gargoyle.jpg

[Hayduke]

TVA Credit Union is moving their headquarters (http://blogs.knoxnews.com/flory/2010/01/tva_credit_union_eyes_former_s.html) to the former Perkins Elementary School off Sutherland. I'd like to think they wouldn't close the Wall Ave counters, but the article doesn't say.

[No Data]

I've been banking at Home Federal since I was 12, so it's been a good amount of time.

Never had anything bad happen, to be honest. I have no real complaints.


However, their best "feature" is the real time banking. If you make a deposit, the money goes in automatically instead of having to wait. I like that, but there are other banks that offer that.

Certain branches of the Home Federal banks have some really snooty tellers, also. It's kind of weird.

[binR Bishop]

TVA Credit Union is moving their headquarters (http://blogs.knoxnews.com/flory/2010/01/tva_credit_union_eyes_former_s.html) to the former Perkins Elementary School off Sutherland. I'd like to think they wouldn't close the Wall Ave counters, but the article doesn't say.

Can't imagine they'd close the downtown branch - right next to the towers.