Survey: U.S. Banks Under-Leveraging Customer Loyalty

A survey conducted by FICO has found that banks are under-leveraging their customer bases and missing out on opportunities for cross-selling additional services.

The online survey of 991 U.S. banking customers found that consumers today use 6.05 banking services on average, but use only 3.37 of these services from their primary bank (defined as one where they keep their checking account). Only 30 percent of consumers surveyed have relationships with their primary bank that extend beyond checking, debit and savings.

Meanwhile, 78 percent of those polled reported being satisfied with their primary bank, and half have done business with their primary bank for more than a decade. Yet, consumers are going outside their primary bank for nearly half of their banking services. While just 5 percent of consumers use a secondary bank for checking and savings, 42 percent use a secondary bank for a credit card, 24 percent for a mortgage, 24 percent for an auto loan, and 27 percent for an IRA, the survey found.

Overall, Millennials (those aged 25 to 34) use the fewest banking services (5.78), although 60 percent of those services are with their primary bank. Two out of three Millennials use a large national bank for their primary banking services. Members of Generation X (ages 35 to 49) have the most banking services (6.27), with 55 percent of those services coming from their primary bank, the survey found.

[Related Content: Bank Loyalty Marketing: 4 Steps for Effective Cross-Selling]

Bryan Yurcan is associate editor for Bank Systems and Technology. He has worked in various editorial capacities for newspapers and magazines for the past 8 years. After beginning his career as a municipal and courts reporter for daily newspapers in upstate New York, Bryan has ... View Full Bio