The rise of social networking has given consumers a voice in the world of mergers and acquisitions. In the case of Capital One's deal to buy the online bank assets of ING, that voice is pretty shrill at the moment and the language pretty salty.

Social media sites are brimming with skepticism about the deal. "The main theme of the rants--er, posts--seems to be the concern that ING's brand of low-fee, low-maintenance banking, combined with responsive customer service, would soon be a thing of the past under the new ownership," reports the New York Times.

ING was popular with cost-conscious consumers drawn to such offering as "no frills accounts," one that offers competitive rates but no minimum balance and no monthly fees. "Users also especially like a feature that lets them easily establish subsavings accounts for specific purposes, like vacations or taxes, and have money transferred automatically from other accounts."

For Capital One, this is a challenge as well as an opportunity. To its credit, it responded to question from the newspaper, but its PR folks smartly declined to be specific when asked if it would hike fees and minimum account balances. "We will focus on the customers, channels, products and pricing strategies that build the best long-term customer relationships and deliver the best cost of funds."

I'm not sure if that reassured anyone. In any case, the new owners have some outreach work to do. Maybe they'll send out some toasters.

For more:
- here's the article

Related article:
Capital One to buy ING Direct, join top ranks of banks