Michelle Rodger: It pays to find a bank manager who will listen

A number of entrepreneurs are desperately unhappy with the level of support available from some banks

IF YOU only ever take one piece of advice from this column, let it be this: trust your bank manager as if he were the least trustworthy person at a gathering of the world's least trustworthy people.

Please don't take this the wrong way. I'm not suggesting for a New York minute that he or she would do anything shady or illegal, but there's only one thing you can trust your bank manager to do and that's the very best job for his bank.

Don't be fooled by all the marketing hype that banks and their business banking managers want to help you and your business, because that's just a by-product of making lots of money from you. And you shouldn't be lulled into a false sense of security when you are promised unrivalled attention and support. Don't think that they actually care about your business or have a desire to understand it. That's just naive. And it's also potentially dangerous.

I speak from bitter experience. As do a number of Scottish entrepreneurs who are desperately unhappy with the level of support available from some Scottish banks.

I picked up an online thread last week among Scots entrepreneurs chatting about banks, poor business service, and voicing a concern that banks don't actually like small business and deliberately make it difficult to deal with them. There was also a general suspicion that banks are leveraging the current credit crisis to bolster margins.

Andrew Ogilvie, of Xtraordinary Hosting a thriving Edinburgh-based internet technology firm, says a senior business banker told him that some banks are using the credit crunch as an excuse to jack up their margins.

Ogilvie says businesses need to develop long-term relationships with their banks, though he admits this is easier said than done for start-ups and smaller businesses because the banks operate a two-tier system. Less than £1m turnover and you'll deal with a local branch classified as 'retail banking', he says. Get your sales up to the magic £1m and if you talk to the right people you can move up to your bank's 'commercial division' but "these commercial banking units are based in the major cities. There you'll find the bank managers of old who we'd all like to have on our side – someone who takes a longer-term view and has time to visit and understand your business – he/she also probably serves better coffee".

So if your male ego didn't allow you to understand before, size really does matter. Particularly in the world of business finance.

One entrepreneur I spoke to believes that most big banks don't want small businesses on their books, so are making it increasingly difficult – and more expensive – for them. According to Gordon Dow, owner of The Power Lunch Club, small businesses certainly don't feel welcome at some banks.

"Maybe they are not making enough out of them or it's too costly to manage a business with less than £250,000 turnover," he said. "I regard my banking manager as much a part of my business as I would if they were part of the management team of my company. But the behaviour of the banks and financial institutions is nothing short of bullying, power hungry, greed and arrogance. They need to get back to basics and get to know their customers again."

I know there are good business bank managers out there (for the record, the Royal Bank of Scotland appears to be the favourite among the online entrepreneurial chappies), but there are just not enough of them. I reckon all the half-decent ones are headhunted into business or industry, but it's a damn shame for the business community. Finding the perfect bank manager for you and your business is an enormous challenge, and one not usually taken seriously enough until it's too late.

So how do you choose the right bank and, equally importantly, ensure you have access to the right bank manager? It's simple. You go to each major bank, shake hands with the man or woman put forward as your proposed manager and tell them about your business. Share your passion and your aspirations with them. Watch their response and listen to what they have to offer.

Then listen again to what they didn't offer. And just ask yourself seriously, would you trust this person to care for your baby? To offer unconditional support as it grows, learns and achieves? Because if you are an entrepreneur who is truly passionate about your business then that is what your business really is. It's your baby, your pride and joy, your future (if you haven't had a baby then you must have had a favourite pet or a favourite cuddly toy; consider it similar).

So if you wouldn't entrust this valuable possession into their hands then don't give them your business, start the search all over again. For those of you who already have a manager you wouldn't trust with your baby, then you'd better act quickly. I give you permission to stop reading immediately and make that vital call.

You might think me a bitter, twisted old cynic. You'd be right (apart from the old bit). But it has made me a better businesswoman. I realise that a bank manager has a specific job to do. I'm a customer. I can expect – and often get – good service. But I shouldn't expect any more than that.

After all, if a bank manager was good enough to run a business, surely that's what he would be doing?