Australia's biggest companies are happy to make their lending bank their main bank, according to new data compiled by finance researcher East & Partners.
The financial crunch has changed the way large companies view their home banks, from the firm that provided day-to-day transactional services for years to the institution that can lend.
The trend among the top 500 companies suggests business clients banks once thought were ''welded on'' might be stolen.
''There has been a dramatic shift in the perception of primary banking relationships over the past couple of years as a result of the global financial crisis,'' said Robert Morgan, head of market analysis with East & Partners.
The crunch has resulted in a credit squeeze for many companies, and a combination of more bad debts and less funding forced banks to more selective about who they lend to.
''What we've seen is further evidence of how important that lending relationship is viewed given the current lending environment,'' Mr Morgan said.
In 2007, before the financial crisis hit Australia, about 70 per cent of big companies considered their transactional relationship as their home bank, according to East & Partners. At present, that number has slumped to less than 50 per cent, with most business clients now regarding their lending bank as their main bank.