13 of 21

Write now Article Tools

Should you keep all your money with one bank or spread it - and thus the risk - around is a debate which has taken on monumental new significance in the wake of the events of 2008. The banking catastrophe which saw some of the world's biggest banks go under - or require direct governmental intervention to prevent them from doing so - and brought about Credit Crunch and the global recession, terrified banking customers around the planet and had them fearing for what was very often their life savings.

The specifics will vary from country to country but most Governments now have in place - where they did not before - schemes to guarantee a person's savings within any bank. The problem may arise in 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 as described above by spreading their money around and there are equally those who see this as simply a way of complicating matters. The latter group of people would consider spreading their money around between banks simply as a way of complicating the procedure of managing their finances and much prefer to have their money all in the one place where they can better administer to their day to day or month to month financial affairs.

What is always worthwhile is keeping an eye on the deals which are offered by different banks and the facilities associated with them. It may be that one chooses to keep all their money with the same bank but they may not necessarily be with the right bank for their own personal circumstances. Using one bank for normal day to day banking transactions while using a different one altogether for long term savings may well 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 do some investigating, find out what is available to you in banking terms in your country or region and thereafter make an informed decision, based on the results of your investigations.

Learn more about this author, Gordon Hamilton.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Should you keep all your money with one bank?
We want to hear your view. Write now!