Be nice to your Bank Manager!

Now it may be a little early to be thinking of Christmas gifts but I need to ask the question - do you still buy a gift at Christmas for your Bank Manager? Do you see them as part of your business team?



The reason I ask is as a former Bank Manager part of the Christmas ritual was sharing out the bottles and chocolates received from clients between the staff at the branch. It would appear that in more recent times this has dwindled and I believe this is indicative of the relationship decline between bankers and their clients.



I am now an independent commercial finance broker, in effect an independent Bank Manager and now I am no longer beholden to just one credit department I can take a wider view of what is happening out there. Banking has changed - as we are all probably aware - however the Bank Managers at the "sharp end" are still the same and really do want to help. They are unfortunately often stifled by bureaucracy and guidelines which are inflexible and performance is often measured on sales targets.



The trick therefore is to be as open and honest with the Bank Manager so he or she is not left to second guess your intentions. I enjoyed coaching my customers so they would drip me an email / fax with good news and not just phone me when times were tough!



When seeking lending facilities always provide as much information as possible - its amazing what can be achieved if the underwriters have all the information to make a decision.



I believe times have moved on and business relationships are often transactional rather than relationship based. Using a finance broker who gets to know your business is perhaps an option to consider to go back to those halycon days when you could discuss all aspects of your businesses finance needs! In the United States approximately 80% of business finance is now obtained via a broker and we are starting to follow their lead.



So keep in touch with your Bank Manger - they are (mostly) human and just want to be involved! Alternatively - contact an experienced, independent broker!!