Choose Your Bank
First, select your bank. The majority of French banks have weathered the crisis and demonstrated their ability to face difficulties. Whether they are national, international, regional, or mutual, they offer all the guarantees to secure your accounts and savings. The proximity of the branch is no longer a decisive criterion, as transportation is democratized and the Internet is also emerging in this sector.
Therefore, you need to study in advance the pricing policy of each company in order to compare and select the one that offers the best prices for you. There is no need to worry about the term account remuneration policy of a particular bank, for example, if you do not have liquidity to invest in the short term.
Related reading : How to Effectively Manage Your Real Estate Assets?
The priority should be the personality of your future banker. During your first meeting with them, do not underestimate the importance of your feelings regarding your interlocutor’s relational ability. A good banker combines professionalism, availability, skills, but also listens and understands your needs. More than a bank, it is a banker you need to choose.
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Stay in Direct Contact
It is important to stay in touch with your consultant. Do not hesitate during your first meeting, in the excitement of opening the account and the birth of the business relationship, to obtain the direct phone number of your future banker or even their mobile phone. It will prevent you from going through a 0800 if you need to reach them.
Do not forget to get their email address so you can send them a reminder or the content of your request if they are hard to reach. Additionally, you can accompany your email with a receipt and a read confirmation, which will indicate that your consultant has read it and, most importantly, when.
Tip: All bank branches have the same base. Get one and you can easily reach anyone in the future. The same goes for emails. Find the contact address of the bank in question and replace the contact with your banker’s name to get the correct address (for example: [email protected] with [email protected] or etc.) [email protected]
Offer Packages
Each bank today offers product and service packages more or less suited to your situation. Take the time to study with your consultant the overall offer to strengthen the components of the offer that concern you and eliminate those that are not of interest.
Be vigilant about the cost of your payment methods. Very often, you are offered a “premium” credit card, which contains many additional services (insurance, payment capacity, etc.). Although it is sold to you at a reduced price, consider its usefulness, since your package in many cases already covers a lot in terms of insurance. As for your significant need for cash, they are rare, and you can easily go to the store for that. These offers are interesting for frequent travelers (airplane, car rental, etc.) and frequent travelers.
The same goes for the battery of covers offered in these packages that your banker often presents to justify the price of the offer. Many of them are duplicated with your home and accident insurance, which affects your everyday life risks (liability, etc.).
Account Management Fees
When opening a checking account, do not hesitate to define exactly the future financial flows of the checking account. Do not let yourself be convinced that the account is a “lump sum.” In fact, if you have few planned fees, make few transfer transactions, and do not circulate a large part of your money overall, negotiate a lower rate.
Find the cost of each ongoing management operation (transfer order, withdrawal from an ATM of a competing bank, issuing checks, etc.) and compare the offers. Again, do not be afraid to negotiate a personalized offer with your banker. Note that even if banks need precise pricing, you can obtain à la carte services depending on your profile and your “attractiveness” as a client.
Also, do not be annoying; banks must provide you with quality services to remove a small margin. The entirety of the “0 fee” is never paid in the long term.
Bring Competition into Play
For a long time, the idea of concentrating their assets in a single bank was the preferred strategy. This allowed us to consolidate our relationships and gain more weight in negotiations (loans, overdrafts, à la carte services, etc.).
Today, we recommend thinking differently. In fact, there are always two banks with two checking accounts.
First, this prevents you from suffering from the policy changes of your bank with which you have had good relations and overnight a new way of working that does not suit you. This is especially true for the business accounts of small businesses and artisans.
With two banks, you can also constantly play the competition (for your mortgage credit, for example). In fact, your consultant at Bank A has, in the current banking context, management and development objectives, and your consultant at Bank B does too. And both know well that you have diversified your assets in both areas. It is up to you to let them understand that there is nothing.
Moreover, as banks constantly develop their offers, you will be better positioned to respond to advantages.
Be Participative
The bank has gained incredible legitimacy in people’s minds in terms of financial assets and savings products. In this way, you should not be exempt from discussing in detail with your advisor the structure and components of a product or service that is offered to you.
Be participative! Ask lots of questions! First, related to your situation: why this type of product (is it really for you)? Why now (is it part of your consultant’s business objectives)? For what purpose (which of my needs corresponds to this product)? When (and when my situation changes)? And then (does this proposal fit into an overall strategy)? Ask questions about the product: What are the subscription fees (are they negotiable)? Exit costs (arrange for it not to be present)? Does it have a certain duration? And if I took the money out earlier? What impact on my tax regime?
Your consultant should have precise, logical, and reasoned answers to these questions. If you hesitate or find that the answers do not seem “good,” take the time to reflect. Sitting in a large banking company’s agency is not enough to systematically optimize the offer.
Advice: Here too, many fees and conditions are negotiable. With two banks, you can already compare the offers of two institutions. If you are a professional, you can also use the services of bulk buying sites like CentralBuy.
The Bank Loan
You have a project and would like it to be financed (partially or completely) by your bank. This is when the relationship you have built with your advisors plays the most.
First, prepare for negotiations. Your accounts must be well-maintained, without incident. If you have savings, highlight them (direct entry into the project, opening a new product, etc.); take the time to explain your project to your consultant and prepare to answer their questions. Your banker is not a censor. They are your partner and have an interest in the realization of your project, and under good conditions. It is a misconception that the banker likes to say no. Saying no is the easiest thing for a bank, but they will not make money.
Before focusing on the loan rate, take the time to check the structure of the credit, its adaptability to your situation, its potential modulation, and its repayment conditions (especially for a loan). If it is a simple consumer loan (starting from €21,000), there is no compensation for early repayment (IRA) and no possibility of deferring repayments. On the other hand, if it is a mortgage or work loan, you can negotiate a partial or complete repayment deferral (to give you time to do the work or when you are building), you can adjust your installments with your bank by making a salary change or the end of another loan, but stay vigilant about the IRA. You can use a large amount (up to 3% of the unpaid amount at the time of repayment), but they are very often negotiable.
Another negotiation lever is the mandatory disability insurance (ADI). You are not obliged (Lagarde Law 2010) to entrust it to your bank. In fact, there are significant differences in the prices of such insurance. Play the competition while remaining vigilant about the coverage offer. If you take your ADI from your bank, you can simplify or even promote your file (although it is more than limited by law); you strive to ensure that the proposed offer adequately protects you. For example, you cover 100% for death, disability, and incapacity to work or even the risk of job loss with a loan for your primary residence. In the context of a rental investment or a second apartment, you may consider less comprehensive coverage, allowing for a lower AVC, as you can part with the property if necessary.
Rates: Pay attention to the market before each rate negotiation, and note the strength of your file. The fact that very competitive prices are displayed everywhere does not mean they are systematically applicable to everyone. Your debt ratio, your remaining living expenses after paying your monthly payments, the size of your family, and your average expenses are also observed by the bank. Do not hesitate to “drop the ballast.” By purchasing home and accident insurance from the credit bank or opening a savings account, you can support your rate demands. Again, the bank will need to make money on the project; otherwise, do not expect to receive quality service.
Do not hesitate to ask a financial broker if you feel you cannot handle this negotiation. Their service is paid, but in 99% of cases, you will be completely win-win, especially in the medium/long term.
If Things Go Wrong
There is no miracle solution if your situation worsens, and your relationship with your banker goes wrong.
First advice: take this risk into account from the beginning of your relationship. Negotiate an overdraft permit and take the time to understand the consequences and costs of the overdraft permit. Having at least two banks gives you at least two permits and can “cushion” the deterioration of your finances.
Second Advice: It is important to communicate with your banker. They are not your enemy and have no interest in having one of those clients who are going through a tough time. If you foresee worsening your situation, inform them and implement solutions upstream.
Conclusion
Banks, bankers, and banking have been the subject of many fantasies since 2008 that can influence consumers’ relationships with them. However, this relationship should be as transparent and pragmatic as possible. The banker needs this relationship to be stable, evolving, and profitable just as much as their client does. However, it is not easy for the saving consumer to share things and find themselves in the abundance of the banking market. So do not forget to be vigilant; do not systematically take what your banker says as gospel while maintaining the consistency of your requirements and expectations. They are above all your partner: aim for a win-win!
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