Business Beware! There is no loyalty here....

I have been a Standard Bank business client since 1993. Over the years they have been a good banking partner providing solid banking facilities and communication. I grew my business with the help of business overdraft facilities and asset finance which served me well.

Then came the Covid-19 pandemic. Suddenly no communication, my business banker disappeared, so did almost 80 percent of my revenue, the overdraft facilities were now more important than ever. I didn't want to take advantage of Covid specific loans which might not be able to be paid back, but my current overdraft was sufficient to carry my costs and my turnover (even though reduced) was sufficient to service the overdraft.

Then without notification or warning Standard Bank began cutting my overdraft, each time a sizable deposit was made by one of my clients the bank simply reduced the overdraft limit and absorbed the available balance. This was particularly hard at the precise time I needed the facility.

Clients would pay deposits on large projects only to have a percentage of the deposit absorbed by the bank leaving my business in-capable of funding the project sufficiently. This in turn led to reduced turnover and further losses.

Standard Bank has become the uncaring insensitive and abusive bully in the modern world of banking.

I would strongly urge Corporate clients to carefully consider placing and continuing their business banking with Standard Bank. I am not alone, just Google the banks anticompetitive practices and you will find a host of examples of accounts being frozen and closed unilaterally. I have had the same email address, the same phone number and the same physical address for over 30 years. They all work, there is no excuse for "not being able to get hold of me" to inform me of the banks decision, not even the communications facilities on the banking app were used...all they needed to do was inform me of what they were doing so I could plan but nothing, Business Beware! These kinds of practices are crippling to Small Business if not all together destructive!