Back in 1852 the immigrant Walker brothers opened a feed store in Salt Lake City. In 1860 their safe room was turned into a bank. In 1868 the brothers loaned money to a mining firm in Alta, and by the turn of the century they were known as
the bankers for all the mines in the area. They sold out to Transamerica in 1956 and became part of First Interstate Bank in 1981.
Walker was my bank from 1977 to 1981, and First Interstate from then on. I was very happy until 1996 when First Interstate was bought out by Wells Fargo. It's gone steadily downhill from there, with new hidden fees and interesting money games.
Today I'm with a local credit union, and couldn't be happier. My CU has all sorts of online services, bill-pay options and other good stuff. I don't have a checkbook. I do everything either online or with a debit card, and they send a rent check to my landlord every month. I hardly ever see them. Oh, and my CU is part of a group that utilizes an ATM chain. I have to pay a fee if I use the ATM at the CU itself, but I can get money at any 7-11 for free.
