Dive Brief:
- TD Bank ranked highest in customer satisfaction among the banks that hold more than $200 billion in U.S. deposits, according to a study released Thursday by J.D. Power. The Toronto-based bank scored an average of 851 out of a possible 1,000 points in a survey of more than 8,300 customers, who gave input on channel interactions, deposit accounts, credit accounts, investment accounts, convenience and problem resolution.
- JPMorgan Chase suffered the sharpest decline — eight points, to 846. But that score was still good enough to give it a tie for second place, along with PNC. Those banks had held the top two spots in each of the past two annual surveys, with Chase leading last year and PNC on top in 2017.
- Wells Fargo saw the greatest improvement — nine points on a 1,000-point scale, to 828.
Dive Insight:
TD began calling its U.S. arm "America’s most convenient bank" in 2008, and indeed, survey participants ranked the bank highest in convenience, branch service and online banking satisfaction. The Canadian bank has more than 1,200 locations along the East Coast, and its branches tend to stay open later than those of other banks.
Customers recognized JPMorgan Chase for providing innovative technology, having the lowest incidence of problems, and high satisfaction associated with credit cards and ATMs, J.D. Power said. PNC customers lauded the Pittsburgh-based bank for its trusted advice, strong checking and saving account options, and prompt and courteous branch service. The latter may be useful metric to watch next year as the bank undergoes a plan to "aggressively" consolidate branches.
TD’s win comes in its first appearance in the survey. J.D. Power adjusted its threshold from $250 billion in domestic deposits to include TD and Capital One this year.
Customers of SunTrust and BB&T were also surveyed, even though neither institution reached the $200 billion figure at the time of study fielding. However, J.D. Power said it planned to include the newly merged Truist in next year’s survey. SunTrust’s overall satisfaction score was 844, and BB&T came in at 839, putting them third and fourth. Capital One ranked fifth with 838. J.D. Power said the McLean, Virginia-based bank "receives strong satisfaction scores for mobile banking," a good sign given the timing of the survey, which was conducted in August and September. Capital One unveiled in July that 106 million of its customers were affected by a data breach.
"Across the study, customers are reporting receiving higher levels of communication more frequently from their banks regarding the bank’s products and services. Customers also cite higher incidences year over year of receiving advice from these large banks," said Paul McAdam, J.D. Power’s senior director of banking services, according to American Banker. "We know in banking that a fair amount of that communication is going to be information on fee structures and product benefits, and that helps to raise satisfaction."
Recent proactive communication on fee structures may help Wells Fargo continue its rise. The San Francisco-based bank last week said it planned to begin refunding checking-account customers who had been charged a monthly fee amid a policy it admitted could have been confusing. Wells Fargo’s nine-point jump in this year’s survey puts it ahead of Bank of America (826) and Citi (814), the latter of which may have suffered in the survey because of its smaller branch footprint.
