How Well Has Your Bank Responded to COVID? Your Customers Weigh In.

Top Pandemic Performers Across the State

The pandemic took all banks by surprise, and all bank customers as well. With branch closings, work-at-home shifts, delinquency concerns and the PPP, banks strained to provide the same level of service as they did pre-pandemic. The latest Rivel Banking Benchmarks show that as the pandemic has rolled on, some banks have hit their stride again, while others continue to stumble. Several banks that were receiving high marks from their own customers as recently as late 2019 have struggled for the past year. Other banks that have not been historically strong performers managed to shine. See the next page for the highest performers in each region.

Understanding how customers feel about their bank is crucial right now given the volatility in the market. As we inch closer to the end of the pandemic, many households and businesses are feeling more comfortable getting back out there, and that includes shopping for a new bank. The percentage of Illinois households who say they are fed up and will be switching banks within the next six months has shot up by 33% since last summer. This market volatility varies a lot by area, though: the South has increased 17% while Cook County has surged by a whopping 46%. This bodes poorly for those banks about to lose a lot of their customers, but very well for the banks with the right marketing message to attract those households and businesses.

The Rivel Banking Benchmarks, the largest survey of bank customers and prospects in the world, shows some of these differences in stark relief. The surveys are conducted online for over 4,000 banking institutions (including almost all institutions in Illinois) and entail objective interviews with two hundred thousand customers per year. During these interviews, customers and prospective customers rate their banks and credit unions (and their closest competitors) on dozens of different metrics, from friendliness and responsiveness, to the mobile app and ATM quality, to rates and fees. Many additional timely questions are included for subscribers, with perhaps pandemic response being the most timely.

Rivel asked customers from almost every banking institution in the state to rate how well their bank has responded to the pandemic. The results were quite surprising in many cases and have shown that it is possible to shine despite difficult circumstances. The rankings show the top performers in each region, according to their own customers. Banks can receive their local ratings by contacting mrandi@rivel.com.

While all banks want to see how their own customers rate their performance, looking at the data more broadly can uncover interesting results. In the most recent wave of surveying (from July 2020 to January 2021), there were some notable ndings:

• Customers in the Central North region (see the exact counties below) rated their banking institutions’ pandemic response the most favorably of the ve regions.

• Customers at the very largest banks were less pleased with their banks’ pandemic response (68% on average) while customers at smaller institutions were a little more satised (73%).

• One in four Illinois Baby Boomers surveyed is open to switching banks, compared to 34% for Gen X and Millennial participants.

Understanding how your customers view your performance through—and after—the pandemic will improve customer loyalty and reduce attrition. Banks should ignore objective customer feedback at their own peril.

Bruce Paul is the Managing Director of CXLign Banking at Rivel, Inc. 203.906.8923 | bpaul@rivel.com | rivel.com/cxlign