Primis Bank is headquartered in TAPPAHANNOCK and is the 8th largest bank in the state of Virginia. It is also the 328th largest bank in the nation. It was established in 2005 and as of June of 2024, it had grown to 542 employees at 28 locations. Primis Bank's savings rates are 9X the national average, and it has an A health rating.
Related Posts
12/4 - Primis Rate Drop
11/11 - Primis Login URL And Method Changing 11-12-24
10/30 - Primis Announces Underpayment Of Sept. - Oct. Interest. No Resolution Timeline.
9/24 - Now Primis Slashes Its Savings Rate
1/22 - Checking Promo 6% For 6 Months
9/1 - Wires Now Free At Primis
8/22 - Account Opening Available Again Without Referral
8/8 - Primis Referral Program Started
8/1 - Primis digital account opening is on again for current customers, APY=5.07% for new accounts (and still at 5.16% for old accounts)
7/28 - Primis (Premium) Checking: 5.16% APY
7/28 - Primis Raising The APY To 5.16 APY
7/3 - New Terms And Conditions
6/10 - Primis Freezing Accounts?
6/8 - Online And Mobile Account Opening Are Temporarily Unavailable Due To Maintenance And Upgrades.
5/9 - Primis Just Raised Their Checking To 4.92 APY
5/4 - Primis Checking & Savings APY Is Up To 5.10%
4/17 - Primis Bank Ups It's Savings And Checking APY
2/17 - Primis Bank's Savings Account Is First To Reach 5% (Rate Update)
2/17 - Primis Savings Website-Listed Rate Reduced To 4.35% APY
1/30 - Primis Bank Personal Savings 5.03% APY
Transition To New Site Going Fine
I transitioned over to Primis's new site without any material problems today It was relatively very easy and smooth.
Went to log-in with my old name/pws, and it brought me to a page asking SS and DOB. Fine. Then took me to setup a new name and PW. Went fine. And then confirmed with a atheization code to my e-mail or TXT to cell phone.
Site itself was till working on several issues (no statement available yet / account did not identify any or current interest rate, or that the account was Joint WROS, or that the account has beneficiaries.)
Spoke with Brianda at CSR, and as usual the call was answered relatively quickly, and Brianda was as usual terrific, knowledgeable, professional and friendly.
She confirmed the above issues that they are working on (I wasn't sure it wasn't just my mistake) and I'll get back as they iron out those couple of issues.
She was able to confirm orally that my account is of record correctly, my ACH transfer accounts are in place, and everything is fine and as before.
Furthermore, they still have the industry leading interest rate for their original accounts.
Just a note to all FYI.
MX Technologies? No Thanks. Downrated.
After attempting to link another account, I was told that trial deposit confirmations were discontinued in exchange for MX "logins" to my other bank accounts. After reading the complaint in the MX Technologies case, I transferred out all but a "place keeping" balance in my Primis account. Same with Plaid, or any other third party that wants my account logins. I miss the higher earnings, but the safety of my account and transaction data is far more important.
Impossible To Contact
I began on 2/13/23 by opening a MM account based of the exceptional rate offered at 5.03%. In the process of setting up said account, there was no communication, except a "hold" on the initial transfer. I rang both phone numbers (one for a stolen of missing card), and BOTH were not functioning. Both numbers just rang until an automatic hang up. This is very disconcerting, but, from my experience in the past, I had a similar issue initially with CFG Bank when they were offering a good rate.
There were TWO of the same transfers in the "hold" account, and I even sent an internal email asking about it. I just received notification today that the transfer went through, but that I was charged a $70 fee.
I am currently on hold, and the wait time is 22 minutes. At least they've ramped up on customer service.
The long and the short of this is - WHY are the banks so lame in offering competitive rates when they are charging high rates to borrowers? This leaves those of us who happen to have some savings, to flock over to a little morsel of an offer to us, in order to have a decent rate - that is still low.
It never seems to work both ways.
At least there is this site, where we can access up to date information.
The Primis Risk
The potential delisting implies the bank's financial records are in such disarray that they can't prepare the required reports. Combine the reports problem with the recent admission that they computed the October deposit account interest payments incorrectly, the CEO's admission of "material weaknesses" in internal controls over financial reporting, not catching a loan officer's fraud activities for 10 years, the disastrous rollout of their digital platform last year and the ongoing piecemeal website updates this year, the bank shills in this forum, etc., and I'm thinking this is not an entity I should be trusting with my money. A small business like a restaurant might get away with sloppy bookkeeping (for awhile), but a bank??
The cautions contained in the bank's November 27 press release definitely do not help the matter. The warnings are quite alarming, containing phrases and possibilities such as "a further material delay in the Company's financial reporting," "the ongoing review may identify additional errors or control deficiencies in the Company's accounting practices," "control deficiencies identified or that may be identified in the future will result in additional material weaknesses in the Company's internal control over financial reporting," "the possibility that the Company is unable to regain compliance with, or thereafter continue to comply with, the Nasdaq Listing Rules, or experience violations of additional Listing Rules," "the risk that the Company may become subject to shareowner lawsuits or claims," "risks related to our ability to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting and/or disclosure controls and procedures in the future," and "the impact of these matters on the Company's performance and outlook."
Instead of FDIC insurance being merely a safety net as it is with most banks, with Primis I think we should expect FDIC involvement to be part of the eventual cashout process. This might involve another bank assuming Primis obligations or it might be a check sent directly from FDIC. In either case if Primis fails our deposits will most likely begin earning less than the Primis rate, either at the new bank's rate or at 0% if paid by the FDIC, so we should factor in several days or weeks of a lower rate to arrive at a blended rate when deciding whether to lend money to Primis. In my own case, compared to my next highest rate bank, I calculate I'd need to earn 11 days of Primis interest at the current grandfathered rate to offset each day of 0% interest while waiting for an FDIC payout. If the Primis rate on existing accounts drops as expected, though, say to 4.75%, that 11 days jumps to 45 days, meaning that if it takes a week to receive and deposit an FDIC check and everything else remains constant I'd need to earn a 4.75% Primis rate for almost 11 months in order to break even. Before loaning them money I need to ask myself, do I think Primis will be able to hang on and pay higher rates for another 11 months? If the answer is no and I'm seeking the highest return, I should forgo the few extra basis points I might earn at Primis now and instead keep my funds at the less risky bank #2.
Data as of Q2 2024
Learn why bank health mattersHealth Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| FDIC Certificate # | 57968 |
| Year Established | 2005 |
| Employees | 542 |
| Primary Regulator | FED |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 0.95% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 7.93% |
| Annual Interest Income | $108.3MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q2 2024vs Q2 2023 | $3.99B$3.84B |
| Loans | Q2 2024vs Q2 2023 | $3.35B$3.19B |
| Deposits | Q2 2024vs Q2 2023 | $3.37B$3.33B |
| Equity Capital | Q2 2024vs Q2 2023 | $476.9MM$467.2MM |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q2 2024vs Q2 2023 | $41.5MM$38.4MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q2 2024vs Q2 2023 | $10.1MM$24.7MM |
| Real Estate Owned | Q2 2024vs Q2 2023 | $0$0 |
