Thomas J. Madden, Chairman and CEO, Transmedia GroupYes, there sure is a lot of talk about walls these days. Concrete ones? Peek-a-boo or see-through variety? Now steel topped?One style of wall might explain why banks are in the sad shape they’re in.Why would a bank put up any wall at all in front of some of its best customers who dare ask for loans? Isn’t that what banks are supposed to do? Loan money?Isn’t lending one of the main ways banks make money? Their raison d’etre?So why do they often treat borrowers like immigrants seeking illegal entry into their vaults? Why is applying for a credit line like climbing the Himalayas?Remove the wall!Why not make the lending process easier and more open instead of opaque and cumbersome, friendlier instead of frustrating; smoother sailing instead of arduous and annoying.Besides looking at just tax returns and credit scores, how about considering someone’s net worth, the fact they’re debt free and they’ve borrowed before and paid back many times?Shouldn’t being a long-term good customer make a true difference instead of a trite one?  Shouldn’t it warrant more than just some robot associate's thanking you over and over for being a good customer?Isn’t the proof in the lending?

About the Author: Thomas Madden is CEO of TransMedia Group, one of the largest independent PR firms in Florida, where it currently operates. The firm’s clients have included AT&T, American Red Cross, City of New York, GL Homes, Jordache Enterprises, McCormick and Schmick’s, Rexall Sundown, Stanley Steemer.