Why does the banking relationship intimidate me so much?

You handle the client's work without trouble. Then the banker joins the call, or you walk into their office, and something in you shrinks. You soften your words. You wait for permission before you speak plainly. This is not a skill problem. Look at what you've actually assigned them in your mind: rank, authority over you, the power to judge whether you belong in the room. No one gave them that. You did. Banks build whole rituals — jargon, delay, formality — that train people to feel small and grateful for attention. You felt it, and you believed it meant something true about you. The task is not to become fearless. You may never feel calm walking in. The task is to act as if the client's interest is the only thing in the room that matters — because it is — and to say the plain thing out loud whether your stomach agrees or not.