When to Switch Banks

Face it — it’s not fun to change banks, and often your bank knows that and takes advantage of that little fact! There are times, however, when you should seriously consider moving your business to another bank. Answer the following ten questions, circling T (for true) of F (for false). Your score will help you discover if you should consider enduring the pain of a bank change.

1. Our bank is generally responsive to our needs and requests. T / F
2. When we need a new loan, our bank provides us with a specific list of information needed to evaluate the request. The information requested is reasonable and easily provided. T / F
3. Our loan rates and loan fees are competitive for our area.   T / F
4. Based upon our substantial daily deposits, our bank gives us waived or reduced checking account fees.   T / F
5. Our bank has our checking account, line of credit, and overnight investment accounts automatically linked so we don’t have to bother with managing our daily cash.   T / F
6. Our bank either has or will help us set-up EFT for customer account collections.   T / F
7. We can move money to or from any of our accounts without leaving the office via a PC link to our bank. T / F
8. Our bank informs us in a timely manner of new, beneficial products and services as they become available.   T / F
9. Our bank offers high-yielding portfolios for excess cash. T / F
10. Our bank makes us feel like a valued customer.   T / F

Scoring – Add up your number of true answers, then use the following key to see if it’s time to entertain a switch.

10: Wow! Tell Meridian who your bank is! You are fortunate, indeed!

7 to 9: Stay put! You’re generally doing well. For any answers that came up false, discuss them with your bank representative.

5 to 6: See if you can negotiate what you need before you move.

Less than 5: It’s time to go out to bid! You deserve better treatment than you are getting. Sometimes, the mere fact that your bank knows you are going out to bid will get them to shape up.   On the other hand, it may be in your company’s best interest to switch banks once you review the alternative proposals.

When you add up interest, fees and time, your banking relationship is very important to your company’s bottom-line profits. Let the idea of extra profit keep you motivated while you work to optimize your banking.