National or Local: Which Bank to Choose?

Choosing a bank can be confusing. There are a lot of them to choose from and each seems to offer different kinds of attractive services. But open an account in the wrong one and you could get caught in exorbitant fees and poor customer service. Pick the right one and you could earn from competitive interest rates, experience good quality service, and get aid from their various personal loans.

But the problem is that there are over hundreds of banks to choose from, both local and national. Would you let the lavish ads of national banks entice you? Or would you turn to your community bank right down the block?

For starters, you should know that a bank is a bank. Regardless if it’s national or local, according to Denise Winston of Money Start Here series, it still holds the same essence: service, products, fees and long-term relationships.

National banks can give lower interest rates and reduced fees because of the larger scale of their economies. Additionally, they can offer banking services anywhere in the country because of their various branches. Thus you don’t have to worry about out of network transactions. When it comes to customer service, national banks don’t tend to give personal touch. Due to their millions of clients, any inquiry and complaint most likely goes to call centers.

Community banks on the other hand are smaller in scale and limited in terms of countrywide services. At times, a community bank is exclusively present only in one state. So if you happen to need banking at another area, this may post some difficulties. But in ATM transactions, community banks are mostly part of a banking network. This allows you to withdraw or transact although there might be some service fees involved.

One advantage of community banks though is their more personal approach in terms of customer service. These banks are owned by a corporation of consumers so majority of decisions lie heavily on what the consumers have to say. When it comes to personal loan rates, community banks are competitive against national banks as well. In some instances they even have lower rates due to their mission of being accessible to consumers.

Choosing between a national bank and community bank should rely on your need. Each one is different so research well and pick the one that meets most or all of your banking demands.