Whether to keep all your money with one bank or spread it around is a debate which has taken on monumental new significance in the wake of the events of late 2008 which led to Credit Crunch. The banking catastrophe which saw some of the world’s biggest banks go under – or require direct government intervention to prevent them from doing so – and the global recession, terrified banking customers around the planet and had them fearing for the safety of what very often was and is their life savings.
The specifics will vary from country to country but many Governments now have in place schemes to guarantee a person’s savings within any domestic bank. The potential problem is that some of these schemes have an upper limit as to how much they will guarantee per individual with any one bank. Those who therefore have substantial savings with one bank would be well advised to obtain full details of any such schemes which apply in their country and, if necessary, spread their funds around to ensure that they will not lose out in the event of a bank’s demise.
The above circumstance aside, the decision as to whether you should keep all your money with one bank is largely a personal one. There are those who have always chosen to limit their risks by spreading their money around and there are equally those who see this as simply a way of complicating their personal finances. There can be little argument that money is better tracked and managed where it is all kept with one bank.
What is always worthwhile keeping an eye on is the deals which are offered by the different banks. It may be that you choose to keep all your money with the same bank but that they may not necessarily be with the right bank for your own personal circumstances. It may be that banks change their deals and the one offering such as the best interest rate will change from time to time. Using one bank for normal day to day banking transactions, while using a different one altogether for long term savings, may well even prove to be the most prudent option in this respect.
There are also the differences between personal banking and business banking to be taken in to account. The best bank for your personal account may not necessarily be the best one for your business account and vice versa. This is of course only a consideration for a minority of people but one which those whom it does affect should not fail to take in to account.
The best way to address the issue of whether you should keep all your money with one bank is to perform some investigations, find out what is available to you in banking terms in your country or region and thereafter make an informed decision, based upon your findings. You should also try to repeat this exercise every six months to a year, to ensure that you are still making your money work for you in the best possible way.