Retail Banking Sentiment Reverses Slide
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Consumer sentiment toward retail banks appears to have reversed its historical downward slide, increasing in 2011 for the first time since 2007, according to [pdf] the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study. The study finds that retail banking customer satisfaction has improved by four index points from 2010 to an average of 752 (on a 1,000 point scale) in 2011.
Each Region Has Unique Preferences
California: Rabobank ranks highest in the region with a score of 796, and performs particularly well in the fees and account activities factors. Bank of the West (777) and Union Bank/Frontier Bank (766) follow in the regional rankings.
Florida: Regions Bank ranks highest in Florida with a score of 789 and performs well in the fees, account activities and account information factors. SunTrust Bank (788) and Wachovia Bank (786) follow in the rankings.
Mid-Atlantic Region: With a score of 804, Northwest Savings Bank ranks highest in the region and performs well in product offerings. Susquehanna Bank follows with a score of 792, and S&T Bank ranks third with 791.
Midwest Region: First Midwest Bank ranks highest with a score of 775, and performs particularly well in the product offerings and account information factors. Commerce Bank and UMB Bank tie to follow in the rankings with a score of 774.
New England Region: Eastern Bank ranks highest in the region with a score of 791 and performs well in the product offerings and account activities factors. Rockland Trust Co. follows with a score of 789, and TD Bank and Wachovia Bank tie to rank third with 760.
North Central Region: FirstMerit Bank and Flagstar Bank tie to rank highest in the region with a score of 802. FirstMerit Bank performs well in facility, product offerings and fees, while Flagstar Bank performs well in account activities. Huntington National Bank and Independent Bank follow in the rankings with 799, in a tie.
Northwest Region: With a score of 794, Umpqua Bank ranks highest in the region and performs well in facility and product offerings. West Coast Bank (792) and Sterling Savings Bank (789) follow in the rankings.
South Central Region: Hancock Bank ranks highest in the region with a score of 817 and performs particularly well in the product offerings and account information factors. Whitney National Bank (799) and Arvest Bank (798) follow in the rankings.
Southeast Region: First Federal ranks highest with a score of 818, performing particularly well in the facility and product offerings factors. United Community Bank follows in the rankings with 813, and First Citizens Bancorp ranks third with 809.
Southwest Region: Arvest Bank ranks highest in the region with 809 and performs particularly well in facility, product offerings and fees. Zions First National Bank (782) and Bank of Oklahoma (779) follow in the rankings.
Texas: With a score of 849, Frost National Bank ranks highest in the region and performs well across all six factors, particularly account activities and fees. First Financial Bank (805) and Woodforest National Bank (792) follow in the rankings.
Satisfaction with Most Factors Up
Satisfaction with most factors of the retail banking experience, account information; facility; problem resolution; and product offerings, has improved from 2010, while satisfaction with account activities has remained stable. In particular, satisfaction with in-person branch interaction, product offerings and account information has all improved significantly.
In addition, customer perceptions regarding their bank’s brand reputation and image have improved in 2011 for the first time since 2008.
Fees Don’t Satisfy
Satisfaction with fees, however, has decreased considerably from 2010, even though the proportion of customers who report they were charged fees by their bank has declined about 19%, from 53% in 2010 to 43% in 2011.
The primary driver of the decline in fee satisfaction has been changes in how fees are assessed, with 18% of customers in 2011 saying their fee structure had changed during the past 12 months, compared with 16% in 2010. When fee structures are changed, overall satisfaction decreases by an average of 84 index points.
Younger Customers Use Mobile, Social Media
In 2011, study results show 23% of Generation X and Y customers (those born after 1964) indicate they use mobile banking, up more than 100% from just 11 percent in 2010. In contrast, just 9% of customers born before 1965 indicate that they use mobile banking applications.
Furthermore, 75% of Generation X customers and 87% of Generation Y customers indicate they use social media applications. More than one-half customers born before 1965 also report using social media.
Response Key to Social Media Success
Among customers who post customer service inquiries on sites such as Facebook or Twitter and receive a reply, 47% say they would definitely reuse the bank for future products and services. This drops to just 27% if the bank provides no response.
One in eight customers who indicate they use social media say that they have used it to contact their bank for service-related issues. However, only 20% of these customers report receiving a response from their bank.
comScore: Mobile Financial Service Users Grow 54%
In Q4 2010, 29.8 million Americans accessed financial services accounts (bank, credit card, or brokerage) via their mobile device, an increase of 54% from 19.3 million in Q4 2009, according to previously released comScore MobiLens data. In addition, 18.6 million users accessed their financial accounts via mobile browser in Q4 2010, up 58% from 11.8 million the previous year.
About the Data: The 2011 US Retail Banking Satisfaction Study is based on responses from nearly 52,000 retail banking customers regarding their experiences with their banking provider. The study, published by J.D. Power and Associates, was fielded in January and February 2011 and is the source of the enclosed charts.