After earning a pretty bad rap during and after the Great Recession, big banks are continuing to win back the hearts and minds of customers.
Overall customer satisfaction with big banks improved for the sixth consecutive year in 2016, according to a new retail banking satisfaction survey from J.D. Power, thanks to improved web and mobile offerings and better customer service. Meanwhile, satisfaction with mid-sized banks declined, and satisfaction with regional banks plateaued.
On a 1,000-point scale, big banks received a satisfaction rating of 793, midsize received a 797, and regional banks scored 790. The small variation is notable, since big banks lagged mid-size banks by 34 points in 2010.
Big banks received the highest scores in mobile and online satisfaction, and have been the most successful at attracting millennial customers. Banks are hyper-focused on attracting those new customers because consumers tend not to switch banks once they’ve begun a relationship. The average American has been with their current bank for a decade or more, according to a recent Fiserv report.
Heightened competition for new customers has been a boon for consumers, as banks have gotten more competitive, aggressively offering new promotions to gain deposits.
The J.D. Power findings confirm a separate study from TD Bank last fall, which showed that 86 percent of Americans have positive feelings about their banking relationship, rating their checking accounts as “very good” or “excellent.” That report also showed year-over-year improvement in customer service and bank hours.
Here’s a list of the top banks in each region of the country based on consumer satisfaction, according to J.D. Power.
