Citibank to Institute Rule to Prevent Cash Withdrawls - Your Money is no Longer Your Money

Citi Warns of Withdrawal Gate

Seen on a recent Citibank (C) statement: "Effective April 1, 2010, we reserve the right to require (7) days advance notice before permitting a withdrawal from all checking accounts. While we do not currently exercise this right and have not exercised it in the past, we are required by law to notify you of this change."

This applies only to Texas at this time, but may be a concerning development in the Organized Criminals', I mean Banks' behavior with regard to Checking Accounts.

As Karl Denninger wrote yesterday on The Market Ticker:

Huh?

Folks, the formal name for a checking account is a demand account. It is called a demand account for the very reason that you have a right to all your money, on demand.

Now maybe there's some new law that applies only in Texas, or maybe there isn't. Who knows - or cares.

The fact of the matter is that any bank that reserves the right (whether they claim through some external cause or not) to throw up a gate on a demand account is no longer marketing demand accounts.

My checking account is such a demand account and I'll be damned if I'll have my checking money anywhere that doesn't fit that description.

In my opinion, you shouldn't either.

So who's money is it really? You earned it, you have entrusted an institution to hold on to it for you, and give it to you when you need it to purchase food, pay your mortgage, etc. IN RETURN, they are now saying that because they are holding it for you, they get to say WHEN you get to take it out?

Fine, they say that they have not exercised this rule (yet) and just want to put the rule in, but is that a rule you're really ready to live with? Are we really considered to be as children that can not be trusted with what we have earned??? If you're the Federal Government, of course your answer to that is "yes".

As mentioned in the article on StockWidget, it may be a tool they want to implement to prevent a bank run by people concerned about their money. But again, is it YOUR money or THEIRS?

The only proper response to this is to remove your money from Citibank. Period. Whether you're in Texas or not, you have to admit if they're willing to do this in one state, others will soon follow.

There is only one way to protest this action:
Nullify this rule by ensuring they don't have any money they can hold on to for seven days.