‘Standout’ Banks Identified for Covid-19 Response

New research from Greenwich Associates has identified 12 banks for excelling in their response to customers’ needs during the coronavirus pandemic.

With “client centricity” now a focal point for banks as a result of the crisis, the analytics firm has identified 12 “standout” banks across the small business and middle market banking sectors.

Out of these, two banks – Frost Bank and Huntington National Bank – were identified as standouts across both segments.

Based on the strength of their customer service response in the second quarter, First Citizens Bank, FNB Corporation, Frost Bank, Huntington National Bank, M&T Bank and Synovus were found to be the standout banks servicing small businesses.

At the same time, Greenwich picked out BBVA, Comerica, Frost Bank, Huntington National Bank, KeyBank and Zions Bancorporation for standout service in the middle market sector.

These banks were identified as standouts for reactively developing and implementing action plans across their organizations, ensuring clients received the service they needed in times of crisis.

This included fast-tracking documentation of e-signature capabilities and shortened surveys designed to quickly gain important feedback from customers, with the best banks quickly adjusting to any useful information received.

The banks were picked out in a blog, entitled ‘How has Covid-19 impacted client experience’ written by Greenwich managing director Jacqueline Vose.

“Those organizations truly committed to customer experience prior to the pandemic thrived in the crisis relative to large bank competitors,” wrote Vose, who argued that banks able to put customers first would benefit from strengthened customer loyalty.

“In contrast, organizations that lacked a customer-centric culture suffered as customers migrated to banks willing to showing empathetic servicing while going the extra mile. Now, those customers are moving their entire banking relationships.”

The past few months have highlighted the importance of customer experience in banking, with more people willing to move for a better service elsewhere.

In June, separate Greenwich research found that one third of small- and mid-sized companies were considering switching their bank in the wake of the pandemic, citing banks’ ability and willingness to process Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans as the primary driver.

Elsewhere, credit card users have become increasingly dissatisfied with how providers have coped during this period.

In August, the 2020 Credit Card Satisfaction Survey from research provider JD Power found satisfaction scores had fallen in several crucial customer segments – with the affluent/mass affluent segment score declining 14 points since the start of the pandemic.