Banks are eliminating fees, offering mobile banking and upping their customer care to try to win customers' trust.
So far, it's a tough sell. In recent years, U.S. banks have given customers many reasons to think twice about trusting them: Fake account scandals. Annoying overdraft fees. Poor mortgage practices.
The reputational hangover lingers. For the second straight year, when it comes to average trust rating, banks ranked last compared to the other seven business categories in the 2022 IBD Most Trusted Financial Companies survey. This year's survey is presented in partnership with our sister company, MarketWatch.
Now many banks are going the extra mile to make amends and improve relations with their depositors, loan holders and checking account customers.
Capital One, the 10th largest U.S. bank measured by deposits, took top honors in trust among nine banks in this year's survey, with a trust rating of 67.9.
"Earning trust requires that we hold ourselves accountable and constantly ask where and how we can do better," said Andy Navarrete, Capital One's head of external affairs. "We strive to earn trust by listening to customers to understand their needs, and ultimately, by designing and offering products, services and technology that help them thrive and unlock their full potential."
Mobile Banking And Fee Elimination
Earlier this year, Capital One was the first major bank to eliminate overdraft fees. And its banking app offers 24/7 mobile banking.
Capital One, whose reputation got dinged back in 2019 due to a data breach, seeks to align its interests with its customers' interests. "We succeed when they succeed," Navarrete said.
In these inflationary times, Capital One customers can avoid the pain of a $35 fee if they don't have enough cash in their account to cover a transaction. Plus, the bank doesn't charge monthly account fees or require account balance minimums to receive benefits.
And Capital One offers more budget-friendly help. Customers can obtain free credit reports and utilize a service that sweeps for coupons to save on digital purchases. And if you misplace your debit card, Capital One has a lock (and unlock) option to make sure your account remains secure.
"Business models built on short-term needs are rarely viable over the longer term," Navarrete said.
Meet Customer Needs At The Bank, Online, With Mobile Technology
Among the nine banks that qualified for analysis in the IBD survey of consumers, Capital One earned the No. 1 rating on the trust attributes of customer service, price and innovative products and services. The bank also earned the third-highest overall trust rating (69.7) among credit card companies in the IBD survey's credit card category.
3 Most Trusted Banks
| Company | Category | Overall Rating | Quality | Ethics | Privacy | Customer Service | Price | Sensitivity To Customer Needs | Innovation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital One Bank | Banking | 67.9 | 71.2 | 64.8 | 73.5 | 73.3 | 63.3 | 59.5 | 63.6 |
| Chase | Banking | 66.0 | 73.5 | 65.1 | 76.5 | 69.4 | 51.4 | 55.9 | 62.6 |
| Bank of America | Banking | 65.9 | 69.4 | 66.2 | 73.2 | 66.1 | 57.6 | 61.0 | 62.4 |
The nation's largest bank, JPMorgan Chase, earned the second-highest trust rating (66.0) among banks. JPMorgan Chase operates as Chase in banking.
"Everything we do starts with the customer," Jenn Piepszak, co-CEO of Chase's consumer and community banking, said at the bank's Investor Day meeting with analysts.
"We're focused on meeting the financial needs of all customer segments," she said. "We do that by delivering experiences that our customers love through our branches, bankers and digital channels, and our continued investments in data and technology.
Third place in the banking category in this year' trust survey went to Bank of America.
No banks, however, made it onto IBD's overall 25 Most Trusted Financial Companies list. That was true last year as well. Besides credit card companies, the overall top 25 included insurers, wealth managers, brokers and ETF/fund companies.
And none of the banks in the top three slots last year made it to this year's top three. Those banks included TD Bank, Citibank and PNC Financial. They finished one, two and three in trust, respectively, on 2021's banking category list. (All our 2022 Most Trusted Financial Companies content can be found here.)
