Changing from a big bank to a local bank

A long time ago, in what seems like a galaxy far, far away, I commenced a banking relationship with a local bank called Standard Federal. At the time my then employer worked out a pretty good for employees if they switched over. I liked the bank, liked the service, and liked that fact that it had a long history in Southeastern Michigan. Sometime thereafter, Standard Federal was re-branded to become LaSalle Bank, and in 2007, Bank of America bought LaSalle Corporation and took over its banks. I didn't think about it in terms of anything other than a name change until the financial crash, reports of financial shenanigans and wrongdoing at Bank of America, and my own experience with an obnoxious and annoying BofA employee. Meredith and I no longer have the level of comfort patronizing BofA than we did before these things happened. I love the online bill paying system, but that is not enough of a reason to continue to patronize a large national bank that exhibits little appreciation for ethical and moral business practices, and at times shows contempt for its customers. We are now thinking of switching over to a local bank. The question is, which one? What local/regional bank do you use? Why? Let us know who you think we should switch to in the comment section of this post.

Puttin' up the Christmas Tree

Michigan Workplace Smoking Ban Passes

Both the Michigan House and Senate passed a workplace smoking ban. Governor Granholm has pledged to sign the bill. The exemptions are reasonable, the floors of the casinos, cigar bars, and specialty tobacco shops. People can still smoke in their cars and home offices.