Lord Lionheart

So that's one for every 4388 square miles. I live in the most populous city ( LA) and have no idea where my closest Wachovia is. Most popular banks are probably

B of A
Well's Fargo
Washington Mutual

Here's a link.
http://california.uscity.net/bin/usc...an%20Francisco

I use a smaller California bank as it's only a block away and we have a safety deposit box there too, though I have online accounts with HSBC ( both UK and US) and ING direct.
If you do go with a smaller bank just make sure they are FDIC insured.

lapin_windstar

There's a lot to be said for Credit Unions (a bit closer to the Co-Op vibe) so long as they've got some sort of arrangement for ATMs.

I'm with Citibank. They're crap, as they all are. I ranted about this elsewhere on here.

"Use a bank? I'd rather die".

gsnichol

A friend of mine banks with Compass and they do indeed refund the ATM fees. However they also charged a $50 fine for going slightly into the red by a few $. So it's swings and roundabouts. Compass will also, according to the TV ads, give you a nice credit card with a photo of your nearest and dearest as the background, and you can pick from a variety of designs for cheques (common with all banks). You can't do simple electronic account transfers without incurring a wire fee, but hey at least your cheques look nice... be prepared to become irritated by US banks and their archaic practices.

I use Chase and they have branches in most places. One way of avoiding ATM fees which hasn't yet been mentioned is to use your debit card when you buy something in a supermarket and then you usually have the option to request cashback. Useful if you're visiting somewhere and can't find a branch of your bank.

Bob

TD Bank North....they aren't great, but they aren't crap either, and they were the only bank anywhere near by when I first moved to the states...and they were the only one's that were covering the New England area.

BoA are the devil, but they have good cover across the country.

dbark

Why do you say that, Bob? I'd be interested to know! I use BoA, never had problems - except their interest rates are not the most competitive - but for me, they make up for that by widespread locations.

surly

I use Wells-Fargo and Washington Mutual here in San Fransisco, never had any problems with either, I also have a legacy Credit Union account from from my cubicle dwelling days.
A lot of Supermarkets here have a Wells-Fargo branch inside, which is convenient. Another way to get some quick cash is at the Supermarket check out, using your debit card.

Here's a site to give an overview of SF. http://sanfrancisco.citysearch.com/

Yorkieabroad

Ah,but we get a stagecoach and horses and cowboys on ours!

Sad but true - that was a major factor affecting our decision as to which bank to go with.....thats what you get when you take the kids bank "shopping"...............

Bob

work practices put them on par with walmart, they are a bit of a sweat shop, and they screw so many people so hard....that and call centres are out sourced to india and they were downsizing chunks in the US, which was something they said they weren't going to do when they merged with MBNA.

UKJeeper

We used Washington Mutual (www.wamu.com) when we lived there (So Cal), and i still use it for my US paypal account. They were always good for us.

ScousePete

Bank of America - outstanding customer service and mucho branches

Wildandcrazy0525

ING Direct, for both checking and savings (when we have some!)

anotherlimey

That's the first time I've heard anyone say that about BoA!

I could have sworn I saw an email yesterday saying HSBC were offering 2.5% on their online checking accounts, which would be nice if I had one near me. For now I'll stick with Washington Mutual.

Pony

I have found Bank of America to be the most incompetent bunch of assholes I ever encountered. More cock-ups than a 2 cent lot-lizard . . .

After enduring them for 2 years I just closed my BoA account and opened a WaMu account - so far it has been a very pleasant experience.

anotherlimey

BoA managed to activate my debit/credit card before I'd received it...

Yorkieabroad

A what??