As the year is moving deeper into the 4th quarter, many organizations are preparing their operating budgets and strategic plans for 2020. Many banks use this time frame to disclose their annual Treasury pricing increases in the analysis statements. Unfortunately, it is often a general comment referencing periodic service and price reviews that may result in changes to an organization’s fee structure usually taking effect in January of the coming year.
It is wise to act proactively and contact your Relationship Manager or Treasury Officer at your bank to obtain detailed insights. Ask valid and appropriate questions:
- What services and prices will be changing?
- What will the impact be on our monthly fees?
What suggestions has your banking team offered to offset or mitigate the impact of the increases? Have they provided a pro–forma view of the new fees on your operations?
Now is the time to act. Staying well informed gives you the best opportunity to avoid an unexpected increase in your Treasury Fees.
Find Out the Exact Pricing
Often, an analysis statement will include a warning of price changes to come. The effective date is included, along with a notice that additional information may be received. However, the exact pricing for the service charge is rarely disclosed. Challenge your Relationship Manager or Treasury Officer to determine what the exact cost impacts will be. The terms of the pricing change may be an important deciding factor to continue or modify your relationship with your current bank.
Outline All Conditions
In addition to determining pricing specifics, terms of the analysis statement need to be considered as well. Your organization should have a full understanding of what each of the line items and services means. Also, there should be confirmation on when additional price increases will occur, if possible. Furthermore, review your balance and service analysis items to make sure there aren’t any discrepancies or price creep instances to discuss. Start this process as early as possible to ensure there are no surprises in your financial statement at the end of the year.
Determine When Fees Are Withdrawn
Although pricing confirmations and conditions are critical to know, organizations should also be aware of fee withdrawal dates. The Relationship Manager or Treasury Officer should be able to answer whether fees will be withdrawn one or multiple times throughout the year. Compare your bank’s withdrawal dates to industry standards to confirm your organization has the best terms possible. Your organization can then implement proper planning to eliminate any potential risks.
Now is the time to review upcoming price increases in your bank’s analysis statement. Ask the right questions to get the answers that may not be transparent on the physical statement. As a result, your organization will be able to redirect its time towards planned growth initiatives for the upcoming year. Understanding the impact of your bank’s analysis statement details eliminates surprise expense increases and helps to promote growth and profitably for your business. For further information, contact us today
About the Authors
Rob Katzman
Rob Katzman has been with Expense Reduction Analysts (ERA) for more than 12 years. In that time, Rob has helped generate savings for various organizations in their treasury services, accounts payables, merchant card, small package freight, payroll processing, international shipping, FTL/LTL, uniform and telecommunication expense categories.
Before joining ERA, Rob had more than 20 years of business planning, revenue growth and cost containment experience in the financial services industry, including the last 12 years as a Regional CFO for Wachovia Bank (Wells Fargo) responsible for the Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. markets. He has a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Tennessee and a MBA in Finance from Texas Christian University.
As a result of Rob’s corporate experience, he established the Banking Service Practice within ERA and is currently serving as the Chair of the Practice Group. Since inception, the Banking Services Practice Group has generated an average savings of more than 30% for ERA clients.
Mike Wolk
Mike is a Consulting Partner with ERA Group and has 31 years of experience in serving clients globally and across a range of industries. Leveraging his years of experience in Information Technology and Financial Operations, Mike’s focus is on helping ERA clients in the US with financial services operational improvements. Mike also works with ERA’s team of category specialists to identify and implement qualitative and cost-improvement opportunities in a wide range of areas for his Washington, D.C., metro area clients.