Taking a chance on a new bank, I first met with Cindie Harrington, Relationship Manager Key4Women at the midtown branch in Anchorage on a Friday afternoon. I brought a pile of folders with all of my financials - the same materials I had provided my current bank - including three years of corporation federal income tax returns and three years of personal income tax returns.

First, I briefed Cindie about the details of my financial situation and recent experiences with my corporate bank of three years. Then I explained what I wanted for my business - a line of credit and NOT business credit cards - and what I thought I needed to help me through the occasional cash flow crunch - $15,000.

Cindie proceeded to fill out a loan application form for me. She then mentioned that Key Bank would love to have my business if I’d like to open a business checking account with them. I thought about it for a moment. At that moment, I had a checking and savings account with my existing bank with my husband’s name on it and then another checking and savings account that I was told to open up with only my name on it. I hadn’t started using the new checking or savings account yet. Did I want to open up yet another account?

I then realized that if I’m going to move over to another bank, I really needed to make that commitment. So I agreed to open up a business checking account with Key Bank. Cindie processed that request and provided me with my account starter kit.

Because of the late hour in the day, Cindie told me that we’d have to wait on word about the loan until Monday but that she would be in touch with me the moment she knew anything. Before I left, she gave me a welcome gift from Key4Women, goodies they provide every woman business owner who becomes a customer of Key Bank. The bag included a black Key Bank umbrella and sturdy black flip flops with the Key Bank logo on the soles.

I went home to spend a weekend of fretting over my business finances.

Monday Morning Update

I received a phone call Monday morning from Cindie. At first, she didn’t tell me outright that my application had been rejected but instead said she was going to go back another time. It turns out that the first application was “machine-processed” and that my bankruptcy in 2002 kicked it out of the system as an immediate rejection. But Cindie had discretion to resubmit my application to a human being along with an explanation about the bankruptcy (that I was advised by legal counsel to declare bankruptcy to get out from under the financial indiscretions of my former business partner).

She promised to get back to me on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, she called as promised. She delicately explained that I was rejected again. This time, she offered new information as to the barriers. A 2005 judgment against me in New York City for a phone equipment lease ($14,000+) that my former business partner had defaulted on. He still was in possession of and was using the equipment but could not be held accountable so the leasing company came after me.

This judgment was post bankruptcy so was not covered under those agreements. At the time, I asked my former business partner to please take care of the situation, and he agreed to do so. Unbeknownst to me, this was still a blight on my credit reports.

But Cindie was not giving up. She said that her boss had the discretion to override this rejection. She asked me to put in writing the details of the judgment and submit to her so she could continue with the process of trying to obtain a line of credit for my business. I did that afternoon, and then had to wait another day for the verdict.

Stay tuned for the outcome of this process. I’ll post it on Friday.

Have you had a great experience with a bank or banker? Or a bad one? What did you do about it?

photo by Yomanimus/Creative Commons license