Banks, and Me ...

Canadian banks got zapped in a Financial Post article on April 14 called ’ SMALL FIRMS SCORE BANKS POORLY : STUDY ’ .

While CIBC and RBC got a solid scathing quite frankly every Canadian chartered bank got its share of criticism with respect to their commitment to small business .

This article could not be any closer to what this BLOG and my business ( www.7parkavenuefinanical.com ) is all about . We originate business financing for Canadian corporations of all size, from start ups to major corporations .

My own thoughts on this are very clearly - its the banker, not the bank. Doesn’t anyone get this ? We work with some great people at all these banks , in fact a large part of my own time is spent searching these people out and cultivating business relationships with them . In any large organization you have under’performers and over performers . We have contacts at these institutions who wake up every day and look for small businesses to finance . Many of their peers , in my opinion, dont do that .

When Canadian business owners and financial managers are looking for business financing do you think they go to the balance sheet and financial statement of the banks and determine which bank might have the most capital, cash on hand, etc . That doesn’t happen .

What they should do is try and find a banker who is sympathetic to their needs and who will outline financing options, and then champion that customers cause within their own organization based on their job parameters and the particular offerings of the bank .

It’s the banker , not the bank - can I be anymore clear?!

Stan