Wells Fargo tops customer-satisfaction rankings for big banks, BofA continues to lag
“According to customers, smaller banks tend to offer more personalized service, better interest rates and fewer fees,” according to the report.
Wells Fargo tops the list of big banks for most satisfied customers with a score of 75, up from 72 last year. The San Francisco-based bank, which keeps its largest employee base in Charlotte, is the only big bank that improved from last year.
“Providing excellent value and outstanding service to our customers is critical to our success,” says Josh Dunn[1], Wells Fargo spokesman. “Our most important feedback comes to us directly from our customers. We’re pleased with the results of this year’s survey, and those results confirm what we continue to see in our internal surveys.”
Charlotte-based Bank of America ranks last among its peers with a score of 68, down from 69 last year.
“We take our clients’ feedback very seriously,” says BofA spokeswoman Anne Pace[2]. “We are confident in our relationship strategy and the investments we are making to improve our clients’ experience with us.”
Citibank came in second with a score of 73, down from 74 last year. And JPMorgan Chase received a 71, down 4% from last year.
Among super regionals, Birmingham, Ala.-based Regions Bank takes the cake with a score of 79. Pittsburgh-based PNC ranks second with a 78 and Winston-Salem based BB&T ties for third with Richmond-based Capital One at 77. Michigan-based Citizens Bank ranks last in this category with a score of 70.
"A good customer experience at Regions[3] doesn’t happen by accident," Regions spokesman Jeremy King said. "We take a very deliberate and measurable approach to customer service, and we listen to customer feedback. In 2013, Regions began an initiative called ‘Regions360’ with a goal of identifying and meeting all of our customers’ financial needs. We are taking the time to ask the right questions. As our customers become more successful financially, our relationship with them is strengthened."
On the whole, customers in the survey prefer smaller banks’ service. The only areas national banks score better for customer experience than their smaller counterparts are number and location of branches and ATMs.
The index found customers are mostly happy with banks’ websites. Call centers continue to be a sore spot, although satisfaction has improved 4% since 2014.
Hilary Burns covers banking and financial services for the Charlotte Business Journal.