Companies are evolving into choosier shoppers when it comes to banking providers. There has been a marked uptick in the number of small and midsize companies that are issuing requests for proposals to select a new bank, according to a quarterly survey by consultancy Greenwich Associates, and the biggest thing motivating companies seems to be the level of fees they're paying.

According to Greenwich, 20% of midsize companies issued RFPs in the first half of this year, up from the 11% that did so in the second half of 2009. More than 15% of small companies issued RFPs, up from 7% in the second half of last year. Greenwich says the pace of RFP issuance is “truly striking” given that usually about 10% of small and midsize companies switch banks in a given year.

“We had traditionally seen a real hesitation to move,” says Chris McDonnell, a vice president and consultant at Greenwich. “To see this increasing number of requests for proposals and that type of openness to switching is bad news for the lower performers in the banking space.”