Santander has taken over Banco Popular

[Nova]

... at a cost of €1 in order to save Popular from collapse.

Does anyone here have an account with them?  If so better brace yourselves for the integration.

[Perikles]

Does anyone here have an account with them?  If so better brace yourselves for the integration.

We have one - what difference will it make - moving from one load of thieving bastards to another?

[Nova]

Well for one, your account number and will change and your cards will be replaced.  Your account conditions will eventually change, do you know if you'll qualify for the 1-2-3 account?  Oh and your branch will likely close too, especially if there's a branch of Santander nearby.  Or if the Popular office is nicer/bigger they might close the Santander branch instead and rebrand the Popular office.

None of this will happen right away, of course, I'd expect it to take six months to a year to complete the integration.  But it will happen.

[Perikles]

Well, the account number has changed twice because we were originally with Banco Pastor in Puerto Santigo, then Los Cris, then Popular Los Cris. Couldn't care less, really. I never go there. I do everything on-line.

[Janet]

we wouldn't want a 123 account even if we were entitled. This account is for one particular purpose and when that purpose is over the account is going to be closed. We bank online and it's staying that way. 99.9% of all bank staff are rude and cynical ... often by force, admittedly, but why should the customer put up with it 

[Janet]

lots of little investors have lost out big time, it seems, with this buy-out, many losing everything, whether as a result of investments being wiped out or because they had a parcel of shares in a non-existient entity. But not the Canarian Government. In the days before the unannounced sale was concluded, €636m was withdrawn by the regional authorities from their accounts with Banco Popular.



There's a word ... um ... breathtaking cynicism? yes, but there's another word, I'm sure ...

[Myrtle Hogan-Lance]

Wow was the first one which came to mind.  How the hell can they manage that legally?

[Perikles]

Wow was the first one which came to mind.  How the hell can they manage that legally?

Thinking about it, I'm not so sure that hanky-panky was going on. Their accountants had been monitoring the stock market and realised that BP was going down the drain. It was their job. Imagine they had not withdrawn money - everybody would be shouting about incompetence.

As long as private people were not involved, I'm minded to see it as good business practice. I feel very sorry for the small investors who lost everything. No doubt the bank had encouraged their clients to invest like that, now they shrug their shoulders. Actually, I hate all the ones in our local branch. Last time I was there, I sat in full view of this jerk who spent over half an hour on some paperwork before he turned his attention to me. He could have dealt with me first, then the paperwork, but no, the clients can all fuck off. Well now, he can fuck off to the job centre. haha. (Well, not yet, but soon, I guess) 

[Myrtle Hogan-Lance]

I don't disagree, and it would have been a disaster for 'the taxpayer' if that money had gone down the drain.  It's just that the small investors have really taken a hit.  I guess the removal of that kind of money justified the purchase price.

[Nova]

I've just received an email from WiZink, which is a subsidiary of Banco Popular and the entity which took over my old Citibank credit card.  I'm thinking hmmm....