America's 10 Best Banks for Customer Service

When investing in the retail banking sector, there is a useful metric to follow that cannot be found on any list of fundamental indicators: customer satisfaction. J.D. Power and Associates annually conducts its U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study to investigate customers’ satisfaction with their primary financial institutions, assessing the impact of that satisfaction on customer loyalty and retention.

The study focuses on 200 of the largest banks throughout the United States. It is published in quarterly waves. The results are broken down by 11 geographic regions: California, Florida, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, New England, North Central, Northwest, South Central, Southeast, Southwest and Texas.

Each bank’s score was based on customer satisfaction for six factors: channel activities; communication and advice; convenience; new account opening; problem resolution; and products and fees. Channel activities include seven sub-factors: assisted online service; ATM; branch service; call center service; IVR/automated phone service; mobile banking; and online banking. Customer satisfaction is measured on a 1,000-point scale.

Here are the banks with the highest retail customer satisfaction scores by region in 2018, according to J.D. Power:

Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp (USB) is the parent company of U.S. Bank National Association, one of the largest commercial banks in the United States. It came in with a customer satisfaction score of 824.

TD Bank is a member of TD Bank Group and is a subsidiary of the Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD). TD Bank earned a score of 844 in Florida.

Northwest Bank is headquartered in Warren, Pennsylvania and is a subsidiary of Northwest Bancshares, Inc. Northwest earned a score of 840 within the Mid-Atlantic region. The company has been recognized by J.D. Power for this award six times since 2010.

Finishing with a score of 845, First National Bank of Omaha is a subsidiary of First National of Nebraska. With $17 billion in assets, it is the largest privately held bank in the United States.

Bangor Savings was founded in 1852 and serves customers primarily in Maine. Its score of 862 led the New England region in J.D. Power's ranking.

Headquartered in Charleston, WV, City National Bank has nearly a hundred locations across West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia and Ohio. The company earned a customer satisfaction score of 854 in the North Central region.

Banner Bank provides services in commercial real estate, construction, residential, agricultural and consumer loans. Headquartered in Walla Walla, Washington, Banner earned a score of 838 to top the Northwest region.

Trustmark provides banking, wealth management, and insurance solutions to customers across locations in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Kentucky and Texas. This is the second time in three years that Trustmark was recognized by J.D. Power with an award in customer satisfaction, coming in with a score of 856.

Headquartered in Blairsville, Georgia, United Community Bank provides retail and corporate banking services. The bank earned a customer satisfaction score of 854.

MidFirst Bank is based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and is privately owned. The firm offers a full range of personal, business, trust and mortgage banking products. MidFirst earned a score of 877 in the J.D. Power survey.

San Antonio-based Frost Bank is a subsidiary of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. Frost started in the back of a small mercantile store, where founder T.C. Frost provided Texans with the supplies they needed to prosper on the frontier. The bank earned a top score of 873 in the Texas region.