The article aims at presenting readers from the banking sector, and in particular persons dealing with strategies of attracting self-government units as bank customers, the needs and expectation of self-governments from banks rendering them services. Identification and understanding of such needs and expectations is a prerequisite of a long-term cooperation.

At the outset, the author answers the question why banks try to compete for the self-government as a customer. Then she presents modern pattern of a bank - self-government´s partner. Roles of a bank in servicing self-governments were determined, and brief characteristics of their achievement presented. This part of the article bases on the author´s experience, gathered in the course of her banking practice, within shaping a bank´s picture desirable by self-governments.

Further the article presents three options of choosing a permanent banking partner by a self-government, i.e.:

1. establishment by the self-government, its union or group its own municipal bank;
2. acquisition of a commercial bank or a part of its equity; and
3. acquisition of a bank neither held in whole not in part by the self-government, for whom the self-government is a strategic customer.

Also advantages and disadvantages of the above strategic options from the point of view of the self-government were presented. It appears that the only realistic solution is often the third option. Accordingly, self-government´s policy and expectations towards a cooperating bank were presented. The author declares here that in order to make the cooperation fruitful and long lasting the commercial bank should get to know finance management and specific features of individual types of local self-governments.