04.24.06 Minorities are less satisfied with financial institutions than non-minorities according to recent survey by Informa Research Services


New consumer study reveals a disparity between minorities and non-minorities in their level of satisfaction with their primary financial institution

CALABASAS, CALIFORNIA (April 24, 2006) –

Informa Research Services, Inc., released results of a consumer survey showing that, while financial institutions are meeting the needs of their minority customers, minorities are less satisfied with financial institutions than non-minorities.

The survey measured the satisfaction of minority and non-minority consumers with their primary financial institution.

 "Highly satisfied” :  

Non-minority      Minority       Black     Hispanic    Asian

    68%                60%            66%       58%         59%

“The survey measured consumer attitudes on more than a dozen different attributes which play a role in selecting a financial institution and satisfying customer needs,” said Paul C. Lubin, senior vice president at Informa Research Services.

The survey found that while in general financial institutions are meeting the needs of minority customers they fall short in communication, understanding needs, and hours of operation.

Non-minorities
Minorities

Satisfaction

 Importance Satisfaction Importance
“Easy to communicate”
85%
89%
77%
92%
“Understand needs”   
69%
71%
66%
77%
“Hours of operation”

69%
79%
69%
84%

“Despite being less satisfied, minorities are more likely to do business with their primary financial institution,” added Mr. Lubin.  “39% of minorities are highly likely to do more business with their primary financial institution in the next 12 months compared to 28% of non-minorities.”

About the Survey

The 2006 Minority Banking Practices survey was conducted via the Internet with more than 1,300 consumers in February 2006.  For more information on this survey or Informa Research Services, contact Paul Lubin at 212-889-5941 or by email at info@informars.com.


About Informa Research Services, Inc. (www.informars.com)

Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Calabasas, CA, Informa Research Services, Inc., provides the financial industry's most extensive array of market research and decision-support information.

Conducting daily surveys of the retail, lending, and business products offered by more than 10,000 financial organizations nationwide, Informa currently supports the product pricing decisions of more than 3,000 clients, representing all 50 states, and including the top 25 financial institutions.  They are the premier provider of fee and feature studies, used to determine the competitiveness of fee-based services, as well as in-depth studies on cash management services, trust products, and other specialized services.  Informa conducts the finest mystery shopping and market research studies available that deliver accurate and relevant measurements in the areas of employee sales and service, customer satisfaction, closed account research, focus groups, competitive performance, and compliance testing.  The company’s extensive financial product database is a popular source of licensed editorial content for financial portals, websites, newspapers, and magazines, attracting major Internet partners, including Yahoo! Finance, Quicken, CNN.com, ABC, MSN, MyFico.com, Edmunds.com, and Internet Broadcasting Systems.