NEW YORK (June 23, 2014) – While banks still need to work at rebuilding trust with the general public, their reputations with consumers have improved considerably in the past year, especially among their own customers, as shown by the 5th Annual Survey of Bank Reputations conducted by American Banker and Reputation Institute.
In this year’s study, 18 of the 25 retail bank brands included in the study garnered “strong/robust” reputation scores of 70 or higher on a 100-point scale, based on the perceptions of each institution’s own customers. While scores based on responses from noncustomers were not as positive, each of the 25 brands registered a higher score on this metric than in the 2013 survey.
The full results and related analysis of this year’s study are available today at AmericanBanker.com/2014-Bank-Reputations, and in the July issue of American Banker Magazine.
Anthony Johndrow, managing partner at Reputation Institute, said that 2014 looks like a turning point for perception of the banking industry. “To be sure, banks have a long way to go,” he said. “Many are still in the ‘weak’ range among noncustomers. But we think that people are willing to be receptive to the good things that banks do.”
BBVA Compass had the top overall reputation score from noncustomers and came within two points of achieving a “top-tier” score of 80 or higher, something no bank has accomplished since the survey started in 2010. BBVA Compass is one of the 25 largest U.S. commercial banks based on deposit market share and one of the largest banks in Alabama, Texas and Arizona.
“BBVA Compass increased its score with customers by 12 points from last year’s survey, which tracks with the bank’s recent efforts to enhance its products and technology and the marketing of its brand,” said Heather Landy, editor in chief of American Banker Magazine, who oversaw the project. “This points the way for other banks to continue strengthening their own customers’ perceptions, along with the perceptions of the general public.”
The annual survey of Bank Reputations measures U.S. consumers’ perceptions of 25 major bank brands. Now in its fifth year, this study provides a detailed analysis of the components that together formulate corporate reputations, and how different banks rate on those measures. Scores are based on the results of an online questionnaire that was fielded in the first quarter of 2014.
About American Banker and American Banker Magazine
American Banker is the banking industry's most trusted resource for news, analysis, opinion and perspective about financial institutions, regulation, risk management, bank technology and market trends. American Banker Magazine is a monthly publication of American Banker, focusing on the ideas the people, and the companies that are changing the way bankers do business.
About SourceMedia
SourceMedia, an Investcorp company is a business to business media and marketing solutions company serving the financial industry and the related fields of professional services and technology. SourceMedia offers its clients and subscribers professional information services, industry-standard research, data applications, in-depth seminars and conferences, and specialized marketing services.
About Reputation Institute
Reputation Institute is the world’s leading reputation-based advisory firm, founded by Dr. Charles Fombrun and Dr. Cees van Riel in 1997. We enable many of the world’s leading companies to make more confident business decisions that build and protect reputation capital and drive competitive advantage. Our most prominent management tool is the RepTrak® model for analyzing the reputations of companies and institutions – best known via the Forbes-published Global RepTrak® 100, the world’s largest study of corporate reputations. Businesses and executives regularly discover best practices in reputation management by affiliating with our Knowledge Center and participating in its learning programs and networking events. Reputation Institute has offices and associates in 30 countries around the world.