How to choose your Bank?

After extensive research on the Internet, I have not found a single article, writeup which tells Retail Customers how to choose their bank. Hence I though I would write a post on the first principles of banking which helps retail customers such as me decide which is the best bank to bank with.

In my opinion Retail Customers are of 2 types. The first is the group which belongs to my parents generation who have banked with a nationalised bank or co-operative bank all their lives. A weekly trip to the bank is a visit which is very exciting and they go there and have a 15 minute chat with the branch manager discussing recent weddings in the community and other similar topics. They attend the Poojas at the bank branch and do not mind the endless wait and bureaucracy and feel extremely elated in withdrawing money in the form of crisp budles handed to them by the cashier. If you are in this group, then I suggest that you do not read my blogs further as I am completely out of sync with these people and cannot identify with their banking needs either.

The second group of people, to which I belong, follow the principles listed below. We choose the banks based on the weightages that we assign to each of the following parameters.

1. Doorstep Service : Need a sales person to visit us for all documentation and instructions. We would prefer not visiting the bank branch at all, due to a shortage of time. We would prefer it if the sales executive does all the photcopying, filling in the application form and we will just sign it after detailed inspection of the form.
2. Remote Banking : We are very comfortable with Internet Banking, Phone Banking and SMS Alerts. We would like to have all our baking relationships on our fingertips. We monitor our portfolio from the comfort of our homes and we should be able to pay bills, transfer funds, track my credit card spending on the Internet. It is better if linking is possible between my cards, loans, investments and bank accounts so that I can make cross payments across these relationships with ease.
3. Consolidation : We would like have all our Personal Loans, Home Loans, Credit Cards consolidated with a single bank for ease in linking the accounts and making cross payments. It is important that my banks offers all the products so that I do not want to start a fresh relationship with another bank and build a relationship with them.
4. Zero Tolerance to Hidden Charges : We have zero tolerance towards hidden charges, fees which have not been disclosed upfront and arm twisting tactics. We will not hesitating writing to the RBI / Banking Ombudsman in the event of unfair practices being employed by the bank
5. Best Rates : We would like to avail Loans at the best interest rates available in the market. However we would not mind paying a bit higher in terms of interest rate for personalised service.
6. Quick Complaint Resolution : We understand that there is an error rate of upto 1% on all banking processes. However, we will would expect a speedy resolution within a week once the issue is highlighted

Very obviously, you are looking for how the various banks in India fare on each of the above mentioned parameters, and I am trying to research the same as well. But as I do not have personal experiences with each of the banks, it would be unfair of me to take a call on the same.

However, do write in to me at Ask.Pranav@Gmail.com and I will help you choose the bank which is best suited for you after understanding your personal requirements.