Update 10/13/08:

The complete re-focus of the United States in its bailout plan for the banking system has changed things.

Comments cannot be made until details of the plan have been released.

Update 10/10/08:

In my humble opinion, the best way to determine the status of your bank is to follow its stock price, if it is a publicly traded company. The market will let you know is there's trouble in the wind.

If you bank at a non-publicly traded institution, you should have no qualms about making direct inquiries to its CEO, either in person, by telephone or by e- or snail-mail.

If you can't get a direct answer from the CEO, put your money somewhere else, period.

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Major Update, 10/9/08:

At this point in time, all banks, insurance companies, and quasi-bank institutions are in jeopardy.

I have written a new Hub suggesting a Bank Holiday be declared by the United States in concert with other nations worldwide. You can find it with minimal effort. It's titled something like, "Dow Down...."

Such a Bank Holiday was declared by President F. Roosevelt on his first day in office during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Our government, with the best of intentions, has panicked. Panic by the rest of us won't help. But prudence will.

Please read my latest Hub. If nothing else, it's the Truth as far as this guy can see it.

One further note: I don't write for idiots, or to be popular. Sometimes my writing can be a little difficult, can require some thought to understand. I write that way not to be a show-off; it's just me. And I don't "dumb down" because I think doing that is an insult to anyone who is kind enough to read what I write. And, unlike so many "financial" Hubs on here, I have no personal axe to grind.

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In the few minutes it took to assemble this Hub (on 9/26/08), rumors have spread that Wachovia is in talks with Citibank, the result of which mean the disappearance of Wachovia.

In Friday's (9/26/08) trading on the New York stock Exchange, Wachovia stock lost 27% of its vale; National City Bank lost 26%.

One of the problems being faced right now is the "too big to fail" issue. The argument is that the government cannot permit certain businesses to fail because the ramifications of such a failure would cause widespread harm to the overall economy.

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an Independent, has pointed out that deals such as Bank of America buying Merrill Lynch and Countrywide Financial, JP Morgan Chase buying Bear Stearns and Citibank grabbing Wachovia (if it happens) are examples of the government encouraging the growth of already "too big to fail" firms, thereby setting up the conditions for future bailouts of them.

Sen. Sanders suggests that the government implement policies that break-up these firms, so that in the future, these firms will not be able to hold a gun to the head of the American people based on the "too big to fail" argument.

This may not be the moment to act on Sanders' idea, but it should be a medium-term policy that the government seriously consider.

Update: In Monday (9/29/08) trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Sovereign Bancorp of Philadelphia lost over 65% of its share value. Also, National City Bank lost an additional 64% of its share value, on top of the previous day's loss of 26%. Fifth Third Bancorp of Cincinnatti share's declined 44% today on the NASDAQ market....WACHOVIA BANK NO LONGER EXISTS.

MtBlog: http://ProteanPerspectives.blogspot.com