Given the ongoing upheaval in the banking sector – indeed, 87 have closed so far this year, compared to 24 in 2008, the FDIC reports – it shouldn’t be surprising that corporate treasurers are keeping an eye on their banks’ health. According to the recently released AFP Treasury Benchmarking Program 2011 Survey, more than two-thirds of corporate treasurers consider a bank’s health to be a significant factor in initiating or maintaining a business relationship. What’s more, nearly one in five changed banks last year due to concerns about a bank’s health.

Other survey findings: on average, the typical treasury department manages five banking relationships, although this varies by organization size and industry. Organizations with annual revenues of $500 million of $999 million typically work with five banks, while those with annual revenues of between $5 billion and $10 billion have relationships with 15. The majority of bank relationships last an average of ten years.

Overall, about 80 percent of the respondents have a credit facility in place, although this also varies with the size of the organization: about 85 percent of those with revenues of $1 billion or more have arranged for a credit facility, compared with 73 percent of respondents with revenue of less than $1 billion. The average credit facility includes five banks. About one-third matured in five years, while 28 percent matured in three. Just under one-quarter – 23 percent – of credit facilities matured in one year.

Through April 2011, most organizations – 62 percent – maintained the same number of banks in their credit facility. However, one-fourth of respondents increased the number of banks, while 13 percent made cuts. Nearly half, or 46 percent, of the organizations that added to their banking relationships cited access to credit as the driver, while 16 percent indicated counterparty risk.

Among organizations that consolidated their banking relationships, 59 percent were driven by a desire for greater economies of scale. This was nearly three times the amount – 21 percent – that mentioned their banks’ desire to extend credit.

When it comes time to work with new banks, a majority of organizations focused on a potential banking partner’s ability to support them from a strategic standpoint (79 percent) and to provide best-in-class products and services (72 percent). In contrast, just 51 percent said that they look for the lowest-cost provider of banking products and services.

At the same time, most companies are monitoring the health of their banking partners. Almost two-thirds (63 percent) of respondents said that they cautiously monitor the bank’s health ratings and conduct their own due diligence. Another 19 percent of respondents said that they had exited bank relationships due to the financial health of the bank.

And, while nearly three-fourths of organizations expressed satisfaction with their banking partners’ ability to support their strategic objectives, only 39 percent said they were satisfied with the accuracy and transparency of the bank fees organization pays. Similarly, just 38 percent said they were satisfied with the value received for the bank fees paid by the organization

The survey reflects responses from 720 organizations. About 42 percent were public, while 38 percent were private. Eleven percent were non-profit, and nine percent were government entities.