Finding a good home for your savings accounts

Depositors in savings accounts might feel a little like abandoned pets these days. Once they were welcomed with open arms, as banks competed fiercely on savings account interest rates, service and special perks for customers.

Now many banks have lost interest in the typical depositor. Savings account interest rates are often near zero. Rewards programs are being cut, and new fees on checking accounts are popping up frequently. Bank customers have been both starved of attention and abused financially.

How have bank customers responded to this ill treatment? Oddly enough, by flocking to deposit accounts. According to SNL Financial, deposit accounts have grown 11 percent since 2008. This is largely because of the flight to safety that accompanied the financial crisis, but a closer look at the numbers shows some striking differences in the rates of deposit growth at various banks. That's an indication that there are winners and losers in this environment--and you should be looking for a bank that is winning customers, not losing them.

Here are four ways to get on the winning side of the changes in banking:

1. Check the bank's growth history--and kick the tires a little bit. When you are considering a bank, ask a representative what their deposit growth has been since 2008. If it's less than the 11 percent industry average, you have reason to be concerned. Substandard growth would suggest a bank hasn't been competitive in some areas, such as savings account rates, checking account fees or service. If the bank has had above-average growth, ask how much of this has been by mergers and acquisitions. In general, organic growth--as opposed to add-ons through mergers and acquisitions--is healthier for any business.
2. Check savings account interest rates--then check them again. You'll want to know how competitive those savings account rates are, but don't just take a snapshot view. Banks sometimes offer short-lived specials on rates to attract new customers, so check the current interest rates again about a month after your initial look. To get some ideas for banks that offer consistently high savings account rates, check out the quarterly America's Best Rates feature from MoneyRates.com.
3. Decide what your technology needs are. Banks are embracing customer-service technology at vastly differing rates. If you like the latest in Internet access and mobile apps, you'll want to make sure that any bank you are considering meets your technology standards.
4. Decide whether you are an all-in-one or a la carte bank customer. How complicated the search for a bank becomes depends on how much you value the idea of one-stop banking. If you want all your accounts with one bank, you'll have to weigh the trade-offs between savings account rates and checking account fees, or personal service and ATM locations. Choosing different banks for each of your accounts, based on each bank's strengths, may seem like it complicates your banking relationships, but it can actually make each individual decision more clear-cut.

If you're feeling neglected at your financial institution, don't look at it as the bank abandoning you. Look at it as an opportunity for you to abandon the bank in favor of one with better service, higher savings account rates and lower fees.

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