How to Get What You Want from Your Bank

W. Bruce Wrigley is the assistant vice-president of treasury risk
management at ABN AMRO Bank Canada.

As users of credit, Canadians pay a high price for a relatively stable
financial system—and one of the costs is limited choice. This book
tells readers how to become more informed about the workings of our
large domestic banks, and how to use this knowledge to the best
advantage.

The author covers a range of topics, including managing personal
credit, getting loans, handling credit cards, paying less for a
mortgage, and offers useful advice. For example, he suggests that
consumers periodically look at what the credit agencies have on file
about them and make corrections to the record (there are often
inaccuracies) before applying for new credit. Goold also suggests that
banking customers demand competitive pricing.

There is much to applaud in this book, with its clearly written,
well-organized, commonsense approach to Canadian banks. However, I do
disagree with Goold’s easy endorsement of mutual funds. Why pay large
management fees to a mutual fund (many of which are owned by the banks)
when there are cheaper and often better (i.e., outperforming)
alternatives for individual investors? Informed and disciplined
investing should be the cornerstone of every individual’s financial
plans, and I hope Goold will address this problem with this same
sensible approach in future volumes.