SunTrust Ranks Highest in Customer Satisfaction.

Westlake Village, CA -- SunTrust Mortgage tops the industry in a recent survey rating customer satisfaction with mortgage servicing companies, according to J.D. Power and Associates here.

SunTrust was followed in the rankings by World Savings Bank, Bank of America and Countrywide.

The consulting company's inaugural loan servicing study measured customer satisfaction with the nation's largest mortgage servicers. The survey asked consumers about four primary issues: billing, payment, annual account review/administration and customer-initiated interaction.

SunTrust performed particularly well in billing, payment and account review/administration, J.D. Power said.

Of the 33 brands publicly rated in the J.D. Power survey, the lowest customer satisfaction ratings went mostly to servicers of subprime credit quality loans, including GreenTree, Ocwen Financial, HomeEq Servicing, Household Finance and CitiFinancial.

Jeremy Bowler, senior director of the finance and insurance practice at J.D. Power, said that with interest rates starting to climb, customer recommendations have become vital to mortgage lending companies. Customers who are satisfied with their lender are more likely to refer that company to friends, co-workers and relatives, he said.

The billing and payment factors are the two most important areas and the highest-rated aspects of the customer experience generally, according to the survey.