Friday, September 14, 2012 - 10:36 PM

TIAA Direct- FDIC? Bank Title Trust/Pod How Long?

I thought I would ask others what they thing about TIAA Direct.

I have had an account with them since February of this year and have been considering setting up a Trust.

At that time they were not setup to happen title changes to Trust/POD. Today I decided to call them to find out the status of this, and to my dismay they are still not setup and have no time frame given.

When I was talking to the rep, she keep on apologize over and over.

Finally I said, look under your FDIC Certificate #34723 that listed on the website. That certificate number on the FDIC website states it has been insuranced from 7/20/1998!

FDIC: Institution Directory - External Confirmation

From that date, they have had over 13-years to get that setup. She claims they have only been doing this since February of this year and that might have been another division.

Which brings me my point, either that certificate does not apply to TIAA Direct or they are committing a fraud by using it.

When I said that to the rep, she said that not what she said. As she claims that is their certificate number and their might be some miscommunication.

So, the question is:
1) TIAA Direct FDIC insuranced?
2) How long does it take to get Trust/POD title setup?

smc11 posts since
Dec 19, 2011
Rep Points: 23

Edit | History

TIAA Direct- FDIC Insuranced? Bank Title Trust/Pod How Long does it take?

Quick
Summary

1. Saturday, September 15, 2012 - 7:04 AM

Based on TIAA Direct's website, TIAA Direct deposits are FDIC insured. Here's what is stated at TIAA Direct's FAQ page:

TIAA Direct is a division of TIAA-CREF Trust Company, FSB

and

Deposits at TIAA-CREF Trust Company, FSB are insured by the FDIC up to $250,000 per depositor.

In my blog post on FDIC insurance at TIAA Direct I went into more depth on this concern.

According to TIAA-CREF's 2011 annual report, I found the following mention of TIAA-CREF Trust Company:

TIAA-CREF Trust Company, FSB
Asset management, trust administration, estate planning, planned giving and endowment management

So it appears the bank isn't the typical bank that takes consumer deposits and makes loans.

It is ironic that a bank that is in the business of trust administration is taking so long to allow trust ownership and POD designations on accounts at its internet bank.

I emailed my contact at TIAA Direct to see if he can provide us a status of this Trust/POD issue and also a background on the parent bank.

KenBDG5,147 posts since
Nov 29, 2009
Rep Points: 117,067

2. Sunday, September 16, 2012 - 2:13 PM

Maybe it would be helpful to complain to the FDIC/OCC or whoever is their primary regulator. I have no respect for a Bank that does not allow their customers to do some simple financial planning by including POD/ITF/Living Trust vestings in their offerings. Perhaps this Bank is not smart enough to figure out how to accomplish this task, while most others have already. Not a customer friendly Bank in my opinion and will NOT get my deposits until they offer POD/ITF/Living Trust vesting options.

ocsteve13 posts since
Jan 17, 2010
Rep Points: 52

3. Saturday, September 22, 2012 - 4:38 AM

It almost has to be intentional given the amount of time that's passed. I bet they decided not to implement it to slow deposit growth (...same reason they're no longer opening new accounts).

glacia1 posts since
Sep 22, 2012
Rep Points: 3

4. Saturday, September 22, 2012 - 6:10 AM

Here are the replies I received from my TIAA Direct contact this week.

On the question about TIAA Direct being FDIC insured:

TIAA Direct is FDIC insured. As a legal entity, TIAA Direct is part of the TIAA-CREF Trust Company, FSB. The Trust Company has had FDIC protection since 1998 and this protection extends to TIAA Direct. The trust company has been in business quite a while managing trusts for our clients. Here is a link to the page that provides background on their services: https://www.tiaa-cref.org/public/products-services/managed_accounts/personal-trust

On the question of how long does it take to get Trust/POD title setup:

We are in the process of implementing functionality that will allow the addition of several types of beneficiary information. We plan to roll out this functionality as soon as we can.

KenBDG5,147 posts since
Nov 29, 2009
Rep Points: 117,067

5. Thursday, October 11, 2012 - 5:15 PM

called today - Still no POD

why cant they create a paper form for customers to submit POD to retain on file??? If their technology cannot support it, i dont mind them working that out if they offered a manual option. Banking and Beneficiary info has been around BEFORE the internet. I appriciate their efforts, but this is an issue that deems greater importance then rolling out an iPhone check deposit app..

nospam11 posts since
Oct 11, 2012
Rep Points: 2