While some may have enjoyed recently watching the discomfort of the Big 4’s CEOs as they delivered news of lacklustre end-of-year financial results, it is important to ask yourself: as a client of the bank(s), what implications could these recent results have for me and my business?

In short, in light of the recent bank results it would be wise for you to consider the strength of your relationship with the bank; speed of application approvals, and pricing. Here’s why:

A customer’s relationship with its bank is a critical one. Unfortunately, a regular complaint we hear from our clients is their frustration with high staff turnover within the banks, and/or lack of engagement from their bank manager. I’d be a rich man if I had a dollar every time my clients tell me of a change in their bank manager! And with the recent poor bank results, one thing is for certain – bank staff won’t be happy with the size of their bonuses this year. The knock-on effect will be that without the incentive of a good bonus ahead of them, staff turnover will increase AND those who remain within the bank will likely be less than enthused. Not great for their customers…

Furthermore, application approvals will likely suffer. Following the recent royal commission, many clients have commented on the difficulty already of getting through the bank’s reinvigorated and cumbersome application processes when seeking finance. And guess what – fewer (experienced) staff and lower engagement will likely have further negative impacts on getting funding requests through the banks in a timely and commercial manner. Not great for their customers…

And last but not least – pricing. In difficult times, banks are notorious for trying to get more out of less. That is to say that as facilities come up for renewal, banks have a habit of squeezing more out of the lemon by increasing the pricing of existing customers. Not great for their customers…

So it’s not looking great for bank customers and their business finance. It seems that when the banks sneeze, it doesn’t take much for their customers to get some sniffles too. But at Balanz, we know banking. And we believe that you can certainly take proactive steps to protect yourself and your business in times such as these – simply ask us how, we’d love to help.

Need guidance with your business finance? Balanz can help.
Contact Edwin Jan on edwin.jan@balanz.com.au or 0413 996 480

Balanz – Your Partner in Business Finance

www.balanz.com.au
Sydney – Melbourne – Brisbane – North Qld

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