For a few years now a local bank has been running billboards poking fun at national banks’ lack of familiarity with local landmarks. here’s an example. (if you’re not from Ann Arbor, Crazy Jim’s Blimpy Burger - AKA “Blimpy’s” - is a historic burger joint here in town, and can be seen behind that tiny billboard at the first link.)
All kidding aside, is there any particular advantage to having a local bank like that host my checking and savings accounts? I currently bank at BoA; they’re nation-wide, so wherever I travel in the country, I can be sure of finding an ATM where I can get cash without any transaction fees. If I give that up, what do I gain by giving that up and going with a local bank that knows the idiosyncracies of my home town?
I have business and personal accounts with a small local bank. I don’t keep close track of my personal checking balance. One time I wrote several large checks without thinking and exceeded my balance. Monday morning they called me at work and told me they “took care of it”. When I’ve needed a loan for business purchases, it was taken care of quickly.
We used to have an account with Wachovia. When they were engulfed by Wells Fargo they became even more impersonal, as well as adding new fees to our free checking. Screw them.
We switched to a local bank. My husband had been cashing his paychecks there for awhile because his work banked there and our bank were assholes and he wanted to avoid them. The local bank tellers were friendly, always recognized him, and sometimes had muffins and juice for customers.
We are much happier with the new bank. It’s funny, the tellers at both places are presumably from our town or nearby, but the Wachovia/Wells Fargo people were far snootier and better-than-you seeming. Like “big city” folks.
Using my debit card from my local bank gives me 5% off at a bunch of local stores, including the place where I buy all my groceries anyway. Also, it’s a credit union, but I think you’re asking more about the local angle.
Partly it depends on how you do your banking and what you want out of it. My wife and I visit our bank every couple of days to make business deposits. She even brings them cookies on a couple of holidays like Valentine’s Day. So we’re known by name right down to the tellers. Our primary bank is regional (I think they’re in six states or so), but this familiarity and smallish scale means the person making decisions about whether to waive a fee or grant a loan is often the same person who enjoyed our cookies.
On the other hand, we got this kind of treatment even from WaMu. As soon as Chase took over, they changed the corporate culture and we no longer got that kind of service. I left Chase when the person in-branch said they couldn’t help, but that I should call the 800 number, which sent me fro business to personal to online to credit card departments only to snarkily explain why they thought the problem was my fault.
So I think it matters more which bank you have and less what their size is. But you are more likely to get that personal touch in a smaller and more local bank.
Of course, if you don’t go into your branch often enough to know people by name, it might not matter where you go. ATMs and computers aren’t going to give personalized service.
Our local bank didn’t get caught up in the housing bubble, so was unbothered when it burst. I prefer them because I know they’re concentrating on banking and providing customer service instead of lip service. My safe deposit box is in a different local bank, chosen because it has far longer hours than any other.