Local Banks in Milwaukee: Top Five

All banks are in business to make money, but some do it with a more consumer-friendly focus. After years of using large national banks and paying outrageous fees for basic services, I looked to smaller financial institutions in the Milwaukee area for my banking needs. These Milwaukee banks welcome new customers warmly while also supporting the local economy more directly than behemoth banks.

Most of my friends and colleagues are like me: they want a convenient bank for basic checking and savings accounts without the hassle of 5000 extra services or banking products designed for the high roller. That’s why I informally polled my personal coterie and asked which banks in Milwaukee they’ve successfully used. The following banks were consistently rated high for convenience, customer service, and overall quality.

1. Guaranty Bank (www.guarantybanking.com)

(I’m proud to say this is my personal bank, and despite this glowing review, I do not work for them.)

Guaranty Bank is a regional bank with locations in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana. Its thickest blanket of branches is certainly in the Milwaukee area. Headquartered in the Milwaukee suburb of Brown Deer, Guaranty has numerous locations in stand-alone buildings, shopping centers, and even in grocery stores. While some people scoff at supermarket banking, the concept is extremely convenient, especially for public transit users and after-work shoppers. Guaranty Bank’s hours are virtually unparalleled, with most locations open into the early evening and many others open on Saturdays and Sundays.

When I opened my Guaranty Bank checking account at the East Pointe branch on Ogden Avenue (Lower East Side, Milwaukee), I told the customer service representative that I wanted to switch from a larger institution that was charging high fees and offering lackluster service on the few occasions when problems arose. She confirmed that many new Guaranty Bank customers come from huge banks in the Milwaukee area where they’ve had negative experiences.

Guaranty offers a nice basic checking account with a number of key features: