- Stocks May Rise Further after Fed Waves on 'Risk Trade'
- Obama in China Grapples with Economic Strains
- Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Boosts Stake in Wal-Mart
- Microsoft Co-founder Allen Diagnosed with Cancer
- Time Warner to Spin Off AOL on December 9
- Gates Boosts Waste Management, Coca Cola Stakes
- What's Kept Stock Rally Going? Fear, Not Confidence
- US Cities With Most Underwater Mortgages
- Citi Shares, A Strange Indicator Of Unemployment?
- Answers to Your Questions: A Path to Economic Disaster?
- 5 Ways to Play the Chinese Markets: Analyst
- Meredith Whitney: Turns Bearish
- 3 Stock Plays on Rising College Costs
- Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Almost Doubles Wal-Mart Holdings During Summer
- Nov. 16: Unusual Volume Leaders
- Getting to the Heart of the Merck-Abbott Embargo Break
- What MGM's Sale Could Say About Value of Content
- My Ratings on Lowe's & Home Depot: Analyst
MOST SHARED
- Stocks Overvalued, Recession Will Return: Meredith Whitney
- Has Twitter's Finest Hours (Seconds) Come and Gone?
- U.S. May Wind Up Green With Envy
- BofA Ex-Counsel: I Was 'Stunned' When I Got Fired
- Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Almost Doubles Wal-Mart Holdings During Summer
- Solar Emerges From A Dark Period
- CNBC Video: Warren Buffett & Bill Gates - Keeping American Great
- Time Warner to Spin Off AOL on December 9
- Stocks May Rise Further after Fed Waves on 'Risk Trade'
- Stanford Receiver to Release Funds Of Frozen Acounts
Text Size 
A rise in fees has led to growing dissatisfaction with retail banks, which may be sacrificing long term growth in favor of short-term gains, J.D. Power and Associates said in a study.
Customer satisfaction with retail banks dropped 26 points on a 1,000-point scale to 737 from the year before, according to the survey of nearly 20,000 households, conducted by the consumer study arm of McGraw-Hill.
 |
While the current financial crisis has bruised the image of retail banks, it is cost-cutting and increased fees that have largely contributed to falling consumer sentiment, the study found.
"Some of the key drivers of customer satisfaction, such as the percent of transaction problems, fees, and wait time for tellers and phone service are going the wrong direction," Rockwell Clancy, executive director of financial services at J.D. Power and Associates, said in an interview.
Faced with the collapse of home values and the credit crisis, banks have cut personnel and increased transaction charges to meet shareholder demands.
"Typically when financial institutions are under a crunch, with loan volumes going down and charge-offs going up, banks raise fees and reduce staff to make their numbers," Clancy said.
Among the highest rated retail bankers, Commerce Bank received the top spot in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions, while BancorpSouth Inc was rated highest in the Southeast.
Wachovia Bank was ranked first in the Southwest, and Bank of the West led the Western region of the country.
Banks that resist the urge to cut costs and retain a high level of customer service could reap financial rewards in the future, J.D. Power said.
According to the study, a bank that increased the number of highly committed customers -- people with a strong emotional attachment to the brand -- by 5 percent saw overall deposits grow as much as 3 percent annually.
"The focus on customer satisfaction can sometimes be considered as a discretionary expense when in fact it's the real differentiator in financial performance," Clancy said.
Print
Email
- Where, what, how.
- CNBC's Jim Goldman asks: Has the sun begun to set on Twitter? Data suggests its best days are over.
- Everyone wanted a piece of Madoff's "Bullship"--the famous buoy sold for $7,500 at auction. You won't believe these prices.
- De Loach Vineyards is selling its pinot noir the old fashioned way, helping to cut energy and transportation costs.
- Why are the Chinese concerned about the progress of U.S. health care legislation?
- CNBC's Maria Bartiromo talks to rapper Snoop Dogg about brand identity in both business and music.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes