Bank Of The West Reviews

I really do not recommend this bank. Their in branch customer service is horrible, wire fees are atrocious ($40), the online platform is misleading, and the credit card offering doesn't even compare to other banks. Please, stay away.

Never use this bank ，I opened an account online this month last month. On April 30th, I deposited my check. On May 2nd, I found that the check showed hold. Their customer service told me that the check for the new account would take 10 working days to show money. In your account. I have not seen this situation in any bank account.

This is a bank that is not going to survive. In 2019 everything is still in paper form (the information on the many paper forms is later punched into a computer). Everybody knows their little part of the job, nobody knows a lot. It's like everyone is working for the system and nobody is working for the customer. Moving my entire business over to Chase. Had an excellent first meeting today - they seem to understand that computers are here to stay and that the customer wants service. So far so good.

As a financial professional, I am frequently asked by my client to recommend financial institutions for their needs. In the past, I have been very supportive of Bank of the West (BOW), but no longer.

I contacted BOW concerning one of my clients who was looking for a local bank with whom to do business. This client is a multi-million dollar corporation headed up by a 34-year-old female president. She was looking for a local bank that could offer them a line of credit as well as the other banking services they required.

Bank of the West (know known as WestStar) advertises themselves as particularly interested in helping local businesses and they had assisted a variety of my clients in the past. Unfortunately, it seems they are only interested in doing business with men at the helm.

My client was turned down because "the Equity doesn't add up" which, in my experience as a financial professional of more than 30 years and multiple Master's degrees in the field, is simply not possible. One cannot have equity that 'doesn't add up' since the equity is, by definition, the result of all the activity of the business.
Therefore, one need only look at the activity to determine any changes in equity.

It is obvious to these seasoned financial eyes that the 'reason' was fabricated because it makes no sense and, in this world of computerized accounting, is, frankly, impossible.

Worse, when I attempted to speak to the reviewer who was the head of the loan department and a Board Member, he was borderline abusive about my client - implying fraud but not outright making the accusation - and personally insulting to me which was highly unprofessional.

I have a variety of clients who were approved for larger loans with much less income/profit and who provided less-accurate financial information on their businesses to the bank. I know this because I saw everything they submitted when they brought it in for my review after the fact.

This business provided much more information that was more accurate and professional because I prepared it for her to take to the bank. Her annual growth has been astonishing, her income exceeds that of every other business I sent to BOW but one and her profit margin is higher than most. Her income and assets to debt ratio are both better than the majority of the businesses that were approved and, in fact, her debt base is lower than all of them. These are the very things looked at by financial institutions in the loan approval process. So, since every one of the factors used to evaluate loans was better, why was she not approved like all the other businesses? What is the difference?

Since they refuse to provide a valid financial reason for the rejection, I have no choice but to assume that the real problem was that the management/ownership of the business was not to their liking. Unfortunately, the only difference between the management of the approved companies and this one is that the other businesses have men at the helm.
Which then begs the question of gender bias and prejudice. Obviously, I cannot say for certain this is the case, but the circumstances certainly lead this educated and experienced professional to believe that it could be.

Either way, i shall not be recommending this financial institution to any of my future clients. I require an institution that is trustworthy, consistent and that isn't going to dissemble when asked a valid question.

Regardless of their real reasons for refusal of my client's loan, at the very least, Bank of the West is none of these.

The online banking is great. Bill paying and in bank transfers are easy and fast. I don't know what it is like to work for the bank, there is always new tellers.

I have been a long time customer of the Bank of the West in Omaha, Nebraska, however a recent bad mistake on their part makes me NOT trust this bank..I am recently retired and have been traveling to third world countries . I obtained from this bank a debit card with a small fixed amount ( I thought) and no overdraft so as to use in third world and limit my liability in case of loss or theft. I felt very confident using this card in isolated places because of the limited amount that I deposited for this card. After returning from Africa I learned that Bank of the West had tied my travel debit card accidently to my other accounts which contained considerable balances. I was told this was a mistake, however it did put my other accounts at risk for large amounts of money . I realize that the risk can be low but using banks and ATMS in third world remote countries can be risky. I was very up set and have made the decision to change my accounts to a different banking facility. I obtained this debit card for a specific reason for traveling and limit my liability. This bank failed to provide what was requested and jeopardized my other accounts. Seems to me a very unprofessional and mistake prone bank.... Changing... Dr Holcomb

I have found this bank and its employees to be reliable, honest, trustworthy, courteous, helpful, knowledgeable, consistent, prompt, and available. As a result, I have had since 1988 an active account at this bank beginning from its predecessors, First Security Bank preceded by First National Bank in Albuquerque, and have had no transaction ever resulting in an overdraft, with over 6,823 checks drawn on my account, and over $1.8 million in payments made from my account. I would recommend this bank to anyone engaged in a good business who wishes to do business with other honest and reliable persons.

Bank of the West offers lousy savings rates just like all institutions these days. Their BancWest Investment Services division offers many opportunities as well as different CD options. TOTALLY AVOID or be very, very careful buying into any of their CD options which are risky and not guaranteed (as a standard CD would be) because you may have money locked into a losing CD venture for many years and NOT EARN 1 PENNY but will get your initial principal returned ... MINUS a fee for ending you investment with them and returning your money.

Between the stellar customer service, easy to use online banking and low fees Bank of the West is awesome. After suffering through the subhuman experience of banking with big guys like Wells and BofA I am very appreciative of the consistently high level output by a relatively small institution. I moved back east ten years ago but their online banking is so good that I saw no reason to close my account even though the closest location to me is 2000 miles away. Highly recommended.