7 Banking Strategies in the Age of Political Correctness

Can you trust the banks? How do you de-risk your banking relationships?

Certainly the question of trusting the banks has always been there. The most common complaints from clients over the past 20 years: my bank only lends when I don’t need the money, the assigned account manager doesn’t know anything about my business, and the account manager doesn’t use judgment – only formulas and standard metrics.

But now, what if the causes I support are not politically acceptable to certain influential people or those with power? What if I serve a market and have customers that may not be acceptable fully to certain influential people or those with power?


7 Strategies to Handle the Current Banking Climate:

  1. Play by all the rules. Stay ethically upright in dealing with your banks. Be careful what causes you support – not because I would want you to become politically correct – but because you have very little individual power when it comes to the bank or the government.
  2. Do business with at least two banks. Split your activities. Operating account here. Savings account and investments there. One line of credit here. Another one there. Loan over there. Shop around.
  3. Hold a reserve of actual cash. Yes, do it. I’m not kidding.
  4. Open a US bank account. Consider currency in other forms like crypto or new ways of holding precious metals like gold wafers.
  5. Deal with a smart FX group – they can help you hedge in interesting ways. Try it.
  6. Educate your bankers about your business. Go out of your way to teach them about what you do, what your metrics portray, and how your customers appreciate you.
  7. Stay alert to signals your bank is sending about causes they support.

Our great team assists clients daily with this and other leadership challenges. We help principled leaders excel!

Leave a comment

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published