Does Your Banker Make House Calls?

By: Maggie Tanner – Vice President of Private Banking, HeritageBank of the South; Wife of (non-traditional) 3rd year Medical Student at UASOM


Would you compare your banking relationship to a trip to the Emergency Room or a House Call with your Internist at a concierge practice? The ER banking experience is one in which a major event is transpiring and financing is needed by close of business yesterday. It’s bloody, chaotic and high stakes. Regular office hours are over, so you are stuck. You have no idea what banker will be “on call”, which location you should direct the ambulance to, and if the institution still goes by the same name. Will they take your form of payment? You find yourself in a painful, frantic scramble of paperwork, waiting and frustration. When you finally hear your name called, you have to explain your situation and your history. Your records with your other specialists will have to be faxed on Monday. You quickly realize that this is not the experience you were seeking, things will fall through the cracks and your opportunity may be lost.


On the flip side, you have the cell phone number of your Internist. You are contemplating a major financial decision. She knows you were on call last night and all day, so your concierge banker arranges to meet you at home. She brings your file with her. Comprehensive care is the standard because she knows your attorney, your CPA, and your financial planner by name. She is already up to speed on your records. You spend the next couple hours in a strategy session with tangible, customized solutions, perfect for your unique situation. The ideas fit within the framework of your comprehensive financial plan, other specialists are in the loop, and your stress level is low. The opportunity is captured and objectives are maintained.


Unfortunately for many busy physicians, they don’t have their banker’s cell phone number and their banker doesn’t know their name. They treat their banking relationship like an uninsured trip to an emergency room chosen at random. With a good Private Banker, it is possible to have a banking experience that much more closely resembles concierge medicine where house calls are the norm. All aspects of a banking relationship, commercial and personal, are handled with one single point of contact who is engaged with other professional partners for cohesive, comprehensive financial care. In many cases, physicians and their practices are so closely intertwined that the banker needs to know all financial aspects of both.


When choosing a banker, look for a Private Banker who is accessible, flexible, creative and proactive. Choose one who seeks to deliver comprehensive care on an ongoing basis. Choose to have the concierge experience with house calls.