One Hundred Thirty: Bank Fools

Any bank customer, whether retail or commercial, with banking needs under $100 million who uses a money center bank (Chase, B of A, Wells Fargo, Citi, etc.) is a fool.  The prior parenthetical also includes the so-called "super regional" banking groups like PNC or BB&T.  The fact of the matter is that large banks are simply not equipped to handle small customers.  The front line and entry level personnel at large banks have about the same knowledge level of banking as the typical MacDonald's employee.

I deal with banks everyday on matters ranging from a few thousand dollars to a few million.  And your average community bank is perfectly capable of handling these needs.  Also, I am able to find persons in these small banks who will be semi-accountable for the services they are trying to provide.  I am not saying that the small banks always do a good job - quite the contrary; they screw up all the time.  It's just that with a smaller outfit you can usually find a guy who will eventually do the right thing because of the potential for embarrassment in the local community.

The area where big banks are the absolute worst is mortgage lending.  Every time I have a client who goes to Chase or B of A for a mortgage I tell them it's a mistake.  When the clients don't listen, they are inevitably hosed by Chase (or whoever) and regret their decision.

Big Banks only want retail customers so that they can charge fees for certain services (overdrafts, credit cards, wire transfers, etc.).  Small banks still manage (or try) to find value in the relationship.