MB Financial's Plans for Corus Bank Deposits

Scott (anonymous) - #1, Monday, September 14, 2009 - 7:31 PM

My last Corus CD matures 10/13/09 so really wont matter much to me. One good thing is things seem to be going smooth. This CD ACH's monthly interest to me on the 13th of every month. Saw this morning this was done.

Anonymous - #2, Monday, September 14, 2009 - 9:45 PM

MB Financial had an investment conference call today re: their Corus takeover. It's interesting to hear their explanation of how they analyzed the geographic spread of the deposits and their take on whether or not to reset interest rates. Link to the audio file:
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?p=irol-eventDetails&c=117839&eventID=2437444
We all comment here from the consumers' pov. This shows the transaction from the bank's side.

Anonymous - #3, Tuesday, September 15, 2009 - 7:10 AM

My 12-month Corus CD matured on 9/6 and I received the check in the mail on 9/12. Talk about fortunate timing...

Anonymous - #4, Tuesday, September 15, 2009 - 8:31 AM

MB lowered the rate on MMA account to essentially 0% effective 9-15-09

scott (anonymous) - #5, Tuesday, September 15, 2009 - 12:58 PM

Where did you find info on MMA account? I have kept $10k in mine to avoid the $25 fee so wonder if that min is still required. Plan was to close it once my last CD matures anyways on 10/13

Anonymous - #6, Tuesday, September 15, 2009 - 10:17 PM

To Scott re your comment question:

You can see the rate info on your account when you log-in to the Corus website to view your account. After you log-in, click on the account or click on "account activity". The account activity window will then open, then click on "view account information" link which is below the name of the account. The window that then opens has rate information about the account. My account is the Ultimate Money Market and the rate is now .005% which is 1/200 of 1%.

Their Ultimate MMA has a $10000 minimum or $20000 average balance requirement to avoid monthly $25 fee, and you lose all interest since last statement cycle when you close. So leave 1 cent in the account and withdraw everything else once you meet the $20000 average for the 31 days of this cycle. If you only had $10000 in since last cycle, withdraw every penny and close the account unless you are close to the next cycle date, in which case wait until the statement cycles to pull all out and close.

scott (anonymous) - #7, Wednesday, September 16, 2009 - 4:47 AM

Thanks, I was checking under the "View account information" Link but all it was showing was last APY earned. Noticed now it does show current rate. Funny because my UMA is showing a rate of 1.31%

Anonymous - #8, Wednesday, September 16, 2009 - 8:20 AM

To Scott......update

This morning my Ultimate MMA is showing .05% which is a whopping 1/20 of 1% vs. yesterday's .005%.

My account showed 1.31% on Monday, just as yours did. It changed to .005% on Tuesday, and now is .05% on Wednesday.

It doesn't matter much. They don't want our accounts so the best thing for us to do is close the accounts.

Anonymous - #9, Wednesday, September 16, 2009 - 9:31 AM

To Scott.....further update

I just spoke to Corus/MB customer service. They will close Ultimate MMA accounts now without incurring monthly service charge or interim interest forfeiture. They will send you a check for the balance including interim interest

Anonymous - #10, Thursday, September 17, 2009 - 11:40 AM

Many thanks to the anonymous poster that described the procedure for checking the MMA interest rate. My rate today (Thursday the 17th) shows 1.31%, probably because I live just 2 miles from one of their branches and bank there often. This is consistent with the Chicago Tribune article linked to by bankguy in which MB said they were going to liquidate CDs and reduce MMA interest for depositors living outside the local banking area.
They'll probably keep the rates up a bit higher locally than they normally would for a while because they don't want all their new local depositors leaving immediately.

The longer term outlook for MBs interest rates are pretty grim I'm afraid. They are a notoriously stingy bank when it comes to rates. For example MB is currently paying it's depositors 0.25% on their MMAs. The highest rate they currently pay is 4% on a rewards checking account but the maximum deposit to earn that rate is $10,000 which is considerably lower than the $20K - $25K that most rewards checking accounts pay on.

Anonymous - #11, Thursday, September 17, 2009 - 2:41 PM

4.0% CD LOWERED TO 0.05% ON 9/14 WITH NO NOTIFICATION.

CD Rates Blog (anonymous) - #12, Thursday, September 17, 2009 - 3:42 PM

I found the percentages of what MB considered Core and non-Core interesting. The FDIC has been beating up on brokered funds and how they are costly. When are they going to start examining Web Promotions, Rate Listing Services, etc.? It would seem that for a troubled bank, they are just as costly.

scott (anonymous) - #13, Thursday, September 17, 2009 - 4:11 PM

I'm in MA and my UMA is still showing 1.31%. Also checked my CD and it still shows 4.65%. Maybe they are not lowering since it matures in a few weeks

Anonymous - #14, Thursday, September 17, 2009 - 4:24 PM

Scott,
My CD matures on Oct. 8th and they changed my rate to .05% on Nov.14 I closed it yesterday. They should be required by law to notify the customer before they arbitrarily change the CD rates. Tom

scott (anonymous) - #15, Thursday, September 17, 2009 - 4:51 PM

Tom,
How did you find out the change? Was it just by looking at "view account information" Want to make sure I'm not missing something

Mike (anonymous) - #16, Thursday, September 17, 2009 - 5:52 PM

Has anyone found that the rate listed at the "view account information" is different than the actual rate quoted when you talked to a bank rep?

Anonymous - #17, Thursday, September 17, 2009 - 9:33 PM

Scott,
I saw the interest rate change at "view account information" and in my "account activity" I saw an interest credit on 9-14-09. This wasn't my usual monthly interest posting. I figured that they had just ended my 4.55% CD rate. I called to confirm. Then I closed the account. Tom

Anonymous - #18, Friday, September 18, 2009 - 3:12 PM

The reader who described MB as stingy with respect to rates wasn't kidding. My 1-yr. Corus CD
with a rate of 4.2% was to mature on 9/29/09. I was told today by a CSR that MB will be cashing me out on Monday. They've already ACH'ed my final monthly interest!

Anonymous - #19, Monday, September 21, 2009 - 2:20 AM

According to MB's Corus Customer FAQ page, at page 2:

"Will my CD continue to earn the same interest rate?
We are reviewing bank products and interest plans, and
we will let you know if anything will change on any deposit
account you had with Corus Bank."

This clearly implies a CD holder will be notified prior to any changes. It would appear to me their statement is misleading and deceptive, designed to lull CD customers into a false sense of security, if MB is now in fact changing rate terms without such prenotification.

They further this in the right column of their website home page by stating:

"Attention former Corus CD customers: You will be receiving a communication shortly that will provide you information about your CD."

Again, if they are reducing CD rates absent notice not only does it not pass the "smell test", it likely crosses into fraud territory since they are practicing deception that benefits MB (having possession and use of customer term deposit funds) to the detriment of these CD holders, (who are neither receiving the benefit of the term rate they'd bargained for nor taking action to remove and redeploy their funds under the belief MB will, as promised, timely give notice of any changes).

Sally (anonymous) - #20, Monday, September 21, 2009 - 12:42 PM

Called today, Sept 21, CSR told me all out of state deposits were being cashed out and sent by mail. Upon inquiring if I could get the funds ACH'd, wired or fed ex'd instead of using the USPS to get such a large chunk of money, she said, NO, no options. I asked if I could open a checking account, have the money txr'd to that, then write a check on it, again answer was "NO." No options. Letters allegedly went out Friday, informing people w/out of state CD's that this would happen, but I was told that lask week too, and to date haven't rec'd any correspondenc. Online, it appears that MB paid interest to 7/14/09, then changed their mind, and withdrew a part of the interest that was paid. When I asked why, the CSR explained that the FDIC told them they could do so.

Anonymous - #21, Monday, September 21, 2009 - 5:44 PM

I closed my CD account on 9-16 and received my check today. If I hadnt have been actively searching for information, I still wouldnt know that MB reduced my rate from 4.55% to .05%. Sally, did they take back the interest for Sept. 12-14? If so, I lucked out by withdrawing my money early. I will say it again, they should be required to give customers notice before arbitrarily changing rates. And I agree with a previous poster who said that notice should be timely! Tom

Anonymous - #22, Monday, September 21, 2009 - 10:32 PM

I understand why people are upset, but I don't think MB can be faulted. After all, they have taken on a lot of CD deposits paying above market rates, and no doubt incurred a fair administrative cost to make this takeover happen. They could've handled things better, but I can't imagine why they'd want to honor the original CD rate.

Mitch (anonymous) - #23, Tuesday, September 22, 2009 - 2:35 PM

To Anonymous at 3:44 on Sept. 21: The disgustingly stingy MB Bank has actually debited my outgoing principal on my now closed Corus CD. MB initially ACHed my monthly Corus interest and retroactively applied the .05% downward APR adjusment to recoup the "overpayment" made to me. Unbelievable.

Anonymous - #24, Tuesday, September 22, 2009 - 4:09 PM

Mitch:
Unbelievable! How many days interest did they take back? Tom

Anonymous - #25, Tuesday, September 22, 2009 - 6:34 PM

Tom: I believe the retroactive downward adjustment went back to the 11th, the day that MB took over. My account was closed yesterday. I saw from Corus' still functioning online account access that $3.67 was deducted from the principal amount that they will be snail-mailing me!! An abominable bank!

Anonymous - #26, Tuesday, September 22, 2009 - 11:43 PM

Of course they, (MB), can be faulted. Making any CD rate adjustments without notice beforehand, as they had published they would give CD holders, is dishonest and unethical. Retroactive adjustments, (as poster Mitch described), even moreso. Sure, they had a right to cancel CDs they did not wish to continue with but any such cancellation should've been by immediate redemption of the funds with the term rate paid up to time of redemption. Had the FDIC closed Corus without selling to MB, it would've issued checks to insured depositors immediately with all interest earned at their term rate being paid up through date of closure. Corus CD depositors are already losing the rates they'd locked in months/years before but also expected to get chiseled out of an extra ten days or so of any interest whatsoever because MB chose to footdrag on redemptions? Dishonest and unethical, simple as that.

Anonymous - #27, Friday, September 25, 2009 - 5:34 PM

I just got a letter from MB that they are closing ALL of my Corus CD's and mailing me a check. They reset the rate to 0.1% effective immediately. Amusingly, they wrote that they will waive the early redemption fee when they mail me my check.

Anonymous - #28, Saturday, September 26, 2009 - 7:31 PM

I have 4 laddered Corus CDs, got checks closing out 2 of them today. No letter or other communication... Rude!

Carol (anonymous) - #29, Monday, September 28, 2009 - 7:53 AM

I received 10 checks in Saturday's mail, the proceeds from closing out all of my 91 year old mother's CD's, none of which was even close to expiring. No letter prior to receiving the checks, no letter with the checks. And I, too, was (mis)led by the Corus and MB web pages that all would continue smoothly, and that I would be notified of any changes. The FDIC info on bank failures and the smooth transfer of deposits is also misleading. I have other CD's with Corus, and am waiting for the other shoe to drop. (Yes, I'm "out of market", but that didn't matter when I made the deposits).

texas (anonymous) - #30, Monday, September 28, 2009 - 2:33 PM

My 89 year old mother had a $100,000 cd with Corus. The interest was ach into her checking at another bank every month. I knew nothing about FDIC taking over. I received a check from Corus on Saturday for $99,986.52. No explanation as to why it was not the full $100K. Just a check.
We live in Texas.

Neil (anonymous) - #31, Monday, September 28, 2009 - 3:00 PM

And imagine my surprise too when I received a 6 figure CD check in the mail from Corus on Fri. 9/25. It kind of looked like a check in the envelope but thought it was SPAM at first. Hadn't heard about Corus going under. Nothing else, just a check. Signed into my account and found it zeroed out on that account and on another CD. No check for that one until today 9/28. TG the post office didn't lose these big checks. Also very annoyed at the interest rate rollback to 9/15 and when I made an emergency trip to deposit funds at a local current bank temporarily, I have up to 11 days of hold time for the checks to clear until I can deposit into a new CD I quickly opened with MetLife on Fri. at substantially lower interest rate than the Corus CDs. So all in all I'll lose about a month of current interest and many months of higher interest due to this fiasco. Don't know why the laws permit this sort of thing. Perhaps it's time to return to the mattress method of saving.

Anonymous - #32, Tuesday, September 29, 2009 - 7:38 AM

I finally received the letter from MB telling me that they were reducing my CD interest rate (from 4.65%) to 0.05%, retroactive to the MB takeover of Corus, and will be closing my account. I also received my final Corus statement.

I received the letter and statement three days AFTER I received the check. This 6-figure check was sent with no letter, nor explanation of any sort. (Yes, they had to take back some interest they had already credited.)

My local bank held the funds from Friday until today, Tuesday. Looks like H&R Block bank is going to get a chunk of money -- 2% for 6 months ... woo-hoo!

Anonymous - #33, Tuesday, September 29, 2009 - 4:35 PM

I received a letter today from MB Finnacial stating that my CD's would earn .05% interest effective on Sept. 12, 2009 and in addition they are closing my account and sending a check. Today is Sept. 29 and the letter is dated Sept. 18; is it resonable to think the USPS would take eleven days to deliver this letter? And I have still not received the check. In affect, MB Financial will be in possesion of my money, and many other people's, for at least eighteen days without paying interest or notifying the CD holder. This appears to be unethical and a fraudelent representation of their statement that account holders would be notified of any changes in their account status. Do we have any recourse?

Jeanne (anonymous) - #34, Thursday, October 1, 2009 - 7:46 PM

We received 3 checks for the proceeds of our CD's. This was one day before the MB form letters arrived that stated that the new bank was taking over Corus' operations! The checks were $18.08, $17.92, and $6.13 short of the principal amount.

Where's the rest of my money??