Sometimes bank loans get called and you are told to get your company loan from another bank.

But, it might not be due to your performance. It could be due to your bank. They may have to reduce some of their credit risk, so even though you have performed like you said you would, there could be external reasons that force them to call in your loan.

Now, you can’t always tell when that would happen. Fortunately, it’s pretty unlikely that it would. But, when it does happen, it seems to have a habit of happening at the most inopportune time.

So, how can you protect yourself against it?

Know how your bank is doing, get their annual reports, get their quarterly reports, and keep track of their performance. Your metropolitan area might have a publication that will do an annual ranking of the banks by performance, such as Crain’s Chicago in the Chicagoland metro area.

Talk with your banker too. If you’re not sure how to understand the bank financials, which can be a little bit different than the financials you run for your business, get an understanding from your banker. Ask him/her, what are the key metrics that they use? When they come to visit, ask them about the performance. How are they doing against other banks in the area?

So, while it’s important to have your eye on the ball and be watching your company performance, you may find it worthwhile to occasionally glance over at your banks performance and make sure things are fine on that front too. By doing so, you could anticipate problem situations developing and take action before they pull the plug on you.