A job interview for a bank – or how should you choose a bank these days?

introduction:

Choosing a bank is not a simple task.

Every freelancer and CEO knows that one of the most important partners for our success are the banks.

Today there are plenty of banks that all go out of their way to tell us how good they are, technologically thoughtful, happy and what not..

So how in all the noise and commotion will we find the bank that will really give us some industrial peace and professional service?

Location friends, location

Experience has shown that usually banks located in the periphery and small cities are less inclined to take risks with their customers and work with a more conservative policy and specialize more in managing the accounts of households than businesses and companies, so the unequivocal recommendation is to work with a large bank in the center of the country that will not get too excited if you are an exception small

Some will call this recommendation “the law of large numbers”.

Vitamin P or recommendations from authors

The “friend brings a group” approach is still the most powerful tool in recruiting customers in the world of banking and finance, so the recommendation is to stick to an independent business owner of the same size and get recommendations and directions, but it is important to ask him correctly as well, because a recommendation like: “This is a great bank” is not really You advance us to the destination, don’t be shy to ask how long have you been working with them? How long does it take for them to get back to you? How much interest and fees do you pay? Otherwise you didn’t get real value from this recommendation.

Family involvement is a strong and very acceptable backup, but here too, think carefully if the situation of your account is not at its best, would you want your father / mother / brother to know this?

Unfortunately, in conversations with customers and friends this is exactly what happens, and more than once the bank, in my opinion with the most impudence, turns to the parents for the purpose of collecting their children’s debts, sometimes even without asking the account holders, which is you – what is your opinion on the matter.

Homework and a short market survey

You don’t have to be an expert in banking, but you should have a cup of coffee with a person who understands a little about the world of finance, a close family friend, a professional friend, and get basic concepts according to your business activity, otherwise the visit to the bank can become a place where the only things that happen are that They curse you with a banker” and charge you money.

It is important to remember that the banks are the sellers and you are the customers, so you should do a short market survey with friends and family regarding the level of fees and interest rates that are currently acceptable to pay, compared to what the bank is offering you.

Divide and rule

There is no doubt that it is much more convenient to manage one account for the business and the home in the same bank and even in the same account, but in practice if it is a business with a turnover of over NIS 20,000 per month, I would definitely recommend separating not only the accounts but also the banks.

The attitude of “the right hand does not need to know what the left hand is doing”, is definitely relevant to managing your bank accounts.

If there is a cash crunch in your business, the last thing you want your “home” banker to know is this, or alternatively if you have a lot of money intended for business development and there is a deficit in your home account, you would not want the bank to make a transfer between your accounts without your approval, unfortunately it has the authority For that, and usually we are the last to know it…

Make a shopping list

Before we approach the bank, we need to understand what we need from it, or in other words, what are my financing needs, beyond the aspects of service and viability, it is important that we arrive with a list of clear requests, for example: checking account limit of NIS 50,000, credit card limit of NIS 20,000, option To make a discount for bags, a long-term loan of NIS 250,000, etc.

At the same time, it is important to prepare documents accordingly, such as: VAT reports for the last six months, current trial balance, profit and loss reports, future contracts with clients, etc.

These are our recommendations for choosing means of financing in the various aspects of the business:

• Financing of fixed assets and construction expenses – use a 5-year loan or a mortgage
• Financing of past losses – spread over 3 years
• Current expenses – credit limit in the account equal to 3 months’ average expenses
• Research and development \ penetration into new markets – loan for 2-3 years depending on the scope of financing

In conclusion:

Choosing a bank is not an easy task, but with a little preparation and guidance you too can make a successful decision in choosing your bank.

For your use, I have attached a questionnaire that will help you have a “successful job interview” for your bank,

Successfully !!

Job interview for a bank

1. How many representatives are there in your department?
2. If I am not satisfied with the performance or attitude of one of the referents, who do I approach?
3. What is the average processing time for performing simple operations such as: bank transfers / receiving

Authorizations for debiting an account \ receiving concentrations of interest and annual fees?

4. What is the average processing time for a credit request such as: a loan / increasing the current account balance?
5. What is the most effective way of communication with you? Fax \ email \ mail?
6. If my direct banker is on vacation, who backs him up? What are his contact details?
7. What are the routes to join you, and how much do they cost?
8. Do you specialize in a certain economic branch or do you work for all independents and companies?
9. How long does it take for a banker from the branch to get back to me if I left a contact via the website or via the branch’s voice response?
10. In case of an emergency, such as theft of a wallet, theft of a wallet with credit cards, urgent consultation, who should I contact?
11. What special services do you have that no other bank has?