PROVIDENCE – Rockland Trust topped J.D. Power’s annual U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study in the New England region, while Santander was last on the list of regional banks.
J.D. Power said on Thursday that its study, now in its 12th year, measures satisfaction in six areas: account information, channel activities (including ATM, branch, mobile and website), facility, fees, problem resolution, and product offerings. Satisfaction is measured on a 1,000-point scale.
How the Fastest Growing and Most Innovative Companies Utilize Technology for Their Success
As the Managing Director of RIHub, Rhode Island’s Innovation Hub, I have the privilege of…
Learn More
Responses from more than 78,000 retail banking customers regarding their experiences with their retail bank were used in the study of 136 of the largest banks in the U.S., according to J.D. Power. Questions were fielded from April 2016 to February 2017.
Eleven regions were studied.
Rockland Trust, based in Rockland, Mass., received the highest score in New England at 858 and a power circle rating of 5, which means it is among the best banks for consumers. The region average was 800.
Providence-based Citizens Bank came in just above the region average at 804, sixth highest on the list and an improvement from last year’s ninth-place finish.
Other New England banks ranked as follows:
- No. 2, Eastern Bank, 846
- No. 3, Bangor Savings Bank, 842
- No. 4, Chase, 819
- No. 5, TD Bank, 819
- No. 6, Citizens, 804
- No. 7, People’s United Bank, 803
- No. 8, Wells Fargo, 796
- No. 9, KeyBank, 794
- No. 10, Bank of America, 790
- No. 11, Webster Bank, 788
- No. 12, Santander, 776
Eastern, Bangor, Chase and TD Bank received power circle ratings of 4, meaning they are better than most for consumers, while Citizens, People’s, Wells Fargo, KeyBank, Bank of America and Webster received power circle ratings of 3. Santander fell into the 2-circle category of “the rest.”
The study found that overall retail bank satisfaction was significantly higher among customers who visited a branch within the past year compared with those who have only used digital channels.
“There is no question that banks need to get the digital experience right in order to attract and retain customers; however, the branch continues to play an important part of the overall customer experience,” Jim Miller, senior director of banking at J.D. Power, said in a statement. “The trend is particularly noteworthy among millennials, who represent the future of banking, and consistently demonstrates that overall satisfaction is higher among customers who use both the branch and mobile banking. Banks can’t choose between the two channels; rather, they must focus on how the two work together.”
The study also found that more customers are using mobile banking (49 percent of millennials, 31 percent of Gen X and 16 percent of boomers). Despite the mobile-banking trend, 71 percent of all bank customers visited the branch an average of 14 times over the past year. Among millennials, 71 percent used the branch, averaging 11 visits in the past year.
Lori Stabile is the PBN Web Editor.
