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COPYRIGHT 2006 Consumers Union of the United States, Inc.
Where can you park your kids in a play area while you munch a little popcorn, watch a movie, or take a yoga class? Try your neighborhood bank.
Our Personal Banking Survey of more than 11,000 CONSUMERREPORTS subscribers found high levels of overall satisfaction with many banks, reflecting the new emphasis on convenience and customer service. Commerce Bank, the clear winner in overall satisfaction in the Ratings, keeps its branches open seven days a week, with drive-through hours starting at 7:30 a.m.
At the same time, about a third of our readers said their fees had increased during the past three years. In other words, when it comes to that popcorn, there's no such thing as a free munch.
Our survey results highlight two of the major trends on today's banking scene, one pro-consumer, the other not. But both mesh nicely as part of a larger business strategy, one that could change the nature of consumer banking for years to come.
For generations, banks made their profit on the difference between interest paid depositors and interest charged to borrowers. Over the past few years, however, as interest rates fell and competition for loan customers increased, banks started to rely more on another stream of income: fees on everything from ATM transactions to overdrafts. In 2005 the 8,833 banks insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation pocketed noninterest income of almost $222 billion, mostly from fees. That's almost a 10 percent jump from a year earlier.
To get you in the mood to buy more products and ring up more fees, many banks are altering the look of their branches. Several major bank chains now refer to branches as "stores," taking their cues from other retail establishments with large glass windows and...
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