The response to the problem has been ridiculous. On CNBC, Kathy Levinson, the president, said something to the effect that the site was never actually down. Customers were on all day, accessing their accounts, getting quotes, looking over their mutual fund balances, playing the popular E-Trade trading game, making investment decisions. The only thing they couldn't do was place a trade. She said E-Trade likes to think of itself as a financial destination site, not just a brokerage.
Asked whether they bore any legal responsibility, she said that they didn't think of this as a legal issue. They thought of this as an issue involving the trust of our customers, and customers continue to trust that they can get good service from E-Trade.
I can think of a few good financial destination sites for E-Trade, including bankruptcy court -- with a stop at the SEC on the way. |
