Dive Brief:

• Small businesses that applied for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans reported customer satisfaction that was 32 points higher — 853 on a 1,000-point scale — than those that didn't apply for a PPP loan, J.D. Power found in a survey last week. That figure climbs to 869 among small businesses that completed the loan-forgiveness process, J.D. Power found.
• As with past editions of this survey, results were broken into regions. Respondents ranked JPMorgan Chase highest in the Northeast, with 859 points. Chase also tied for first in the West region — alongside Bank of the West — at 829. Bank of America topped the Midwest for the second straight year, with 859 points. And TD Bank ranked highest in the South, at 865.
• Customer satisfaction ranked an average of 73 points higher — 859 — when an account manager is assigned to the business, J.D. Power found.

Dive Insight:

The J.D. Power survey included responses gathered between June and August from 7,327 small-business owners and "financial decision-makers."

The research firm found customer satisfaction ranked 13 points higher, on average — 829, among customers of national banks, as opposed to those of regional ones. National bank customers, generally, also reported an easier loan forgiveness process, J.D. Power said.

About 28% of small-business owners said COVID-19 continues to have a severe or major effect on their business, the researcher found. Just more than half — 52% — reported being financially stable with access to capital/credit required to meet their business needs. About 26% said they are financially stressed, and 23% reported being financially vulnerable, according to J.D. Power.

"Banks can build upon the customer goodwill generated through PPP by providing solutions and information to address the range of financial challenges facing small businesses, including access to timely credit, improving business creditworthiness, building savings to cover a cash shortfall and having adequate insurance coverage," said Paul McAdam, J.D. Power's senior director of banking and payments intelligence.

JPMorgan’s win in the Northeast comes after two straight years finishing behind Capital One. (Chase ranked second in the region last year.) Bank of America and TD tied for second in the Northeast this year, at 830.

Chase continued its stretch atop the West. This would be the bank’s ninth consecutive year ranking first in the region — albeit with a tie. U.S. Bank ranked third in the West with 825.

Bank of America, which eked out a win in the Midwest last year, widened its lead to 20 points over PNC’s 839. Huntington ranked third in the region, at 835.

Last year’s top-ranked bank in the South — Capital One — was not among the region’s top three this year. JPMorgan Chase took second, at 861, behind TD. Wells Fargo ranked third, at 843.