M&T Bank ranked third in a J.D. Power ranking of retail banks and their ability to provide financial advice.
M&T is a relative newcomer in Delaware, gaining the branches after acquiring troubled Wilmington Trust. Bank of America and Capital One also ranked above the national average in the report from the company best known for its customer satisfaction ratings for automobiles and trucks.
The survey ranked nearly a dozen and a half large banks and took note of the preference of customers to seek advice from their bank and lagging performance by the financial institutions in that area.
According to the J.D. Power 2018 U.S. Retail Banking Advice Study, 78 percent of U.S. retail bank customers say they are interested in receiving financial advice or guidance from their bank. However, 28 percent of retail bank customers say they receive financial advice. The study also found that customer satisfaction surges when banks get the advice formula right.
“In recent years, large U.S. retail banks have steadily improved customer satisfaction because of technology investments to provide greater banking convenience and more-consistent products and services,” said Paul McAdam, senior director of the Banking Practice at J.D. Power. “The industry’s service improvements have led more customers, particularly younger ones, to view their retail bank as a viable provider of advice. In response, many banks are increasing their emphasis on providing practical advice and guidance to help customers gain greater control over their finances and meet specific financial goals. The challenge for banks is getting the advice formula right and delivering it in a personalized manner across all channels—not only at the branch, but also via the website and mobile app.”
Other findings:
- Customers believe they benefit from advice: Among retail bank customers who have received advice/guidance from their bank, 89% believe they have benefited from the information.
- Banks struggling to deliver advice digitally:Among retail bank customers who received advice/guidance from their retail bank, 58 percent of those who received face-to-face advice feel it completely met their needs. That number falls to 45 percent among customers who received advice digitally (bank’s website or mobile app) and to 33 percent among those who received advice via email. Moreover, 58 percent of customers want to receive advice through their bank’s website and mobile app, but only 12 percent of them have received advice in this manner.
- Millennial customers among most receptive to bank advice:One in three (34 percent) customers younger than 40 years old say they are “very interested” in receiving advice from their bank, and bank customers ages 25-39 have the highest levels of satisfaction with bank-provided advice. Only 9 percent of customers ages 25-39 feel the advice received from their bank added no value.
- Among retail bank customers who are highly satisfied with the advice provided by their institution, (overall advice satisfaction score of 900 or higher on a 1,000-point scale), 91 percent have a high level of trust in their institution. “For banks, the key takeaway from this study is that there is a huge opportunity to leverage a combination of in-person and digital interactions to provide advice and guidance that assist customers in their financial journey,” McAdam added.
