Webster ranks high in satisfaction study

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. – Webster Bank has ranked third among New England banks in J.D. Power and Associates’ 2010 U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study.
Webster, subsidiary of Waterbury, Conn.-based Webster Financial Corp., scored 761 on J.D. Power’s 1,000-point scale measuring overall customer satisfaction.
Boston-based Eastern Bank ranked highest in the region with a score of 787. People’s United Financial Inc., headquartered in Bridgeport, Conn. was second with 771.
J.D. Power said customer loyalty continued to decline throughout the country for the fourth consecutive year, while satisfaction has leveled off.
Overall, banks scored 748 in the study, down a point from 2009, and the percentage of customers who say they “definitely will not” switch banks during the next year has decreased significantly during the past three years to 34 percent in 2010, compared with 46 percent three years ago.
But the level of loyalty differed between customers of small and large banks.
Forty-one percent of customers at smaller banks said they “definitely will not” switch, compared with 32 percent at larger banks.
J.D. Powers said acquisition rates are also improving at smaller banks, with new customers accounting for 8 percent of the customer base, compared with an industry average of 6 percent.
Poor customer service – the most common reason given for switching banks – is cited by 37 percent of customers who changed their primary bank recently.
Fees also had an affect on customer loyalty, as 29 percent of customers who switched banks recently cited high fees for products or services as their reason for switching.
In the regional portion of the study, Webster – ranked ninth in Rhode Island by deposits – scored four out of five in overall satisfaction, a perfect five in product offerings, three in facility, four in account information, four in fees and four in account activities.
Citizens Bank, Bank of America and Sovereign Bank were the only other banks with a Rhode Island presence listed in the study.
Citizens scored three out of five in overall satisfaction, four in product offerings, four in facility, three for account information, four in fees and three for account activities.
Both Sovereign and Bank of America scored two out of five in overall satisfaction, product offerings and facility. Sovereign received a two for account information while Bank of America got a three.
Sovereign also received a three in fees and two in account activities, whereas Bank of America received a two in fees and three in account activities.