Make your banker work for you

If you own or manage a small firm then most of your conversations with your bank are probably around loans and overdrafts. If you don’t need them then what value then are you getting from your bank? Banks aren’t exactly paying lots of interest at the moment.  A meeting held with representatives from a local ‘corporate banking’ provision at a well-known coffee shop in a well-known shopping centre in Warrington today made me reflect upon what the role of a bank may be to a business. A refreshing approach from the bank indicated that they tried to add value by supporting their customers on more than just a transactional basis. They put suppliers and buyers together; they spent time with senior company staff in the workplace and fed back on company ‘opportunities for improvement’. Simply they recognised that if their customers grew then so did their business too. The trouble is not all banks are so proactive. Firms or people seldom change their bank account, so banks have little incentive to try harder. So why not take a look at your banking arrangements? They all do loans and overdrafts, but how many can make a difference by adding value? Make your banker work for you, you’re paying!

Lawrence Bellamy is a Professor at the Warrington School of Management, University of Chester