Start Building Your Banking Relationship

A relationship with our bank can be one of the most important relationships that we have in our life.  The key to a successful banking relationship is to start young, be loyal to your bank, and always try to deal with the same personal banker.  The relationship that we have with our bank can help us with everything in our financial life from having fees reversed to having our mortgage approved.

We have to understand that our personal banker cannot work miracles; they can only try to help us as much as possible. Our personal banker can suggest that our various bank fees be reversed, and they can recommend that our mortgage application is approved.  However, the final decision is always made by the bank branch manager or a centralized mortgage application center.

Another key to a successful banking relationship is to know when to stop asking for favours and just be a client.  Banks make money by charging bank fees and by charging interest, they cannot always waive our fees or lower our interest rate.  As clients we have to find a balance and know when to stop asking.  As a personal banker I am less likely to go out of my way for a client who is more trouble than the business is worth.  However, I will definitely go out of my way for polite and respectful clients who rarely ask for anything.

Here are 5 Great Tips To Help Build Our Banking Relationship:

Start Young. Banks definitely consider the number of years that we have been a client when deciding to reverse our fees or approve our mortgage. Being a good client is often determined by the amount of time that we have been clients.

Be Responsible. We have to show our bank that we are responsible clients so they will want to do business with us.  We also have to show our bank that we want to do business with them too.  It is a good idea to open a bank account and set up a direct deposit along with an automatic withdrawal.  This shows our bank that we manage our money responsibly. Our banks verify the number of returned checks and insufficient fund transactions when determining if we are a responsible client.

Establish Good Habits. We should apply for a credit card at a young age, most financial institutions offer student credit cards to young clients.  We have to establish good credit habits at a young age so that our bank will approve our credit applications as we get older. When we apply for a line of credit or a mortgage later in life our bank will definitely take our past payment and spending habits into consideration.

Maintain a Relationship. Find a personal banker and establish a working relationship.  This may be an individual relationship that we establish on our own, or it may be a pre-existing relationship that our family already has with a personal banker.

Be Loyal. Not only do banks look at the length of time that we have been clients, but they also look at the number and types of products that we have with them.  It is a good idea to have all of our accounts, both credit and debit, at one financial institution.  This helps build a strong banking relationship with our financial institution.

Photo by Beneath Blue Skies