A bank is a business, but it is a highly regulated business with an obligation to serve customers fairly. Herein I propose a basic test of banking ethics.

Take $1000. Put half into the lowest tier of checking accounts, and half into the lowest tier of savings accounts. Wait five years.

Is there more than $1000? This is the minimum acceptable behavior. A bank that charges fees for not making them do any work in excess of the interest that they pay is not treating their clients acceptably.

Is there more than $1000 plus five years of inflation? This is good behavior. The bank, a business, has accepted the custody of your money and kept it safe, not just by holding it in a vault, but by having a good loan program.

Don’t do business with banks that fail this test, even if you aren’t going to need their low-value accounts.

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