Justified Paranoia

[Kiwi]

Start preparing your resume and looking into the local job market now, that way if your told you are closing at say 3pm friday, you have at least an hour to get those resumes out.

[HYHYBT]

That's funny; there's a strong rumor that the bank I use will be gone after this week too. As a customer, of course, it doesn't make nearly the difference it will to you, but it's an odd coincidence.

I wish you the best of luck! Who knows, there's always the possibility that the new bank will be better than the old one.

[bainsidhe]

Paranoia can be a good thing. Are you the only one feeling concerned? Your description gives you reason to be concerned. Now is a terrific time to be updating your resume and *maybe* start looking for another job. Not guarantee that a takeover is going to let you keep your hours and benefits.

[Ghel]

Just because I'm being paranoid, it doesn't mean that the deduction I've made isn't true. A number of things have happened recently that make me think that the bank where I work might be closed soon.

Our bookkeeping person (the AWTH) normally spends a week at the beginning of each quarter in the basement office doing a report called the call report. This time, she has instead spent three and a half weeks (so far) in the basement. She and the VP (and sometimes the Pres) have been in frequent closed-door meetings, some of them teleconferences, with no explanation. The Pres is more agitated then usual. The VP has been irritable (and she's normally a very amiable person). Monday, two paintings and a rug that hung on the wall (each of which were donated by one of the owners) were missing. Today, two more paintings and a couple of signs that said that banks are the best place to get a mortgage have disappeared. A "Special Exam" was opened up for us last Friday on FDIC's website, but no documents have been requested for it, as far as I'm aware.

A Compliance Exam had been scheduled for this month, but it was postponed due to lack of available staff. This is an exam that's normally done every 12-18 months. Monday, an examiner showed up with about 2 hours notice to do the Compliance Exam. But I'm skeptical because he spent over two hours in the VP's office talking to her, and in the two days since, he hasn't asked for any of the information I collected for the exam before it was postponed.

Since the beginning of the month, but especially this week, the VP has been asking for unusual information, and nothing that seems to correspond to a compliance exam. Today she was collecting information regarding the bank's (not our customers') credit cards and cell phones, saying that the examiner needs it. The Pres was gathering information using the same form as the VP, and he asked for info on employee benefits, including medical, life, and disability insurance.

The next thing I expect is a mandatory Saturday meeting where they'll announce that we're being closed. The Monday after, we'll open as a branch of a different bank and senior management will be gone. But then, maybe I'm just being paranoid.