[dennis in se pa]

I have some money invested through Vanguard. When I sell a stock it can take as much as a week for it to "settle" and the funds to become liquid for me. Then it takes 3-4 days for this cash to be transferred to my bank. I don't do a lot of trading, but it seems the sale should settle within 24 hours and that the transfer to my bank should take only 24 hours also. Is Vanguard slow in this process or is this normal? What happens to the money in between? Does it go into a pool for Vanguard to squeak out some interest? Any input on this process is appreciated.