The same bank account for thirty years, VNB, Bank One, Chase


I've had the same bank account now for thirty years, beginning with Valley National Bank, where I started working in 1990. VNB was bought out by Bank One in 1992, but nothing much changed other than the name, and I spent most of my professional career with them, up until 1996. When I moved on to greener pastures that year, I kept the account, both because it just made sense, and also because I had, and still have, a genuine affection for that bank, which is now Chase. The names have changed, but the branches are all still in the same place, and I know where they are.

My mortgage on the house I'm in was also with Valley Bank, then moved to Bank One, then Chase. I signed up for automatic payment when I got the loan, and if I hadn't refinanced, the loan would be paid off by now. As it is, I guess I just gotta go on living, and Chase will automatically debit the amount at the first of every month. I will have spent thirty years here in 2023.

I know a lot of people who've moved their bank accounts around. Maybe they were interested in getting a free toaster, maybe they became disgruntled with a particular bank, I don't know. Apparently I'm gruntled.

It may just be a quirk of my personality, but although I knew that I had to move on from various companies, I look back on my time there with affection. Unlike my dad, who worked for the same company for thirty years, I would look up every once in a while and find that I had to go look for a new job. It was annoying at the time, but looking back, it kept things fresh for me.

I don't really know much about banking, I worked as a graphic designer in the Marketing Department, but a little bit of information rubbed off on me. I learned how much someone has to steal from a bank for it to be a Federal Offense (a penny!), and I also learned that banks can't discriminate against you on the basis of your age, so you can go ahead and sign for that thirty year mortgage no matter how old you are, and how ridiculous it might sound. I enjoyed working for VNB, and Bank One, and I'm happy with how Jamie Dimond is running Chase nowadays. He's two years older than me, but he seems to be doing fine, going strong. I'm glad that he's doing well.

Image at the top of this post: the Valley Bank branch at 44h Street and Camelback in the 1970s, now Chase, and for a long time, Bank One.Thank you for the encouragement! If you want to see daily pics of my adventures on my recumbent trike in suburban Phoenix (just for fun, of course!) you can follow me on Buy me a coffee, and you can buy me a coffee if you'd like to:

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