A new survey of 1,001 adults by Maritz Research found that of those consumers whose banks are currently going through a merger, 51% of consumers currently going through a merger said they will stay with their bank, while 35% said they were waiting to see what happens. Thirteen percent indicated they are currently looking for another bank.
Credit unions in Massachusetts are currently running a campaign aimed at disaffected customers of Fleet Bank, which is being acquired by Bank of America.
Meanwhile, more than half of all U.S. households are reporting their bank has gone through a merger in the past five years, with one in four saying it's occurred within the past year. Just one-in-seven indicated they feel better off as a result of the merger, according to a survey conducted by Maritz, while 55% said they don't believe it has made any difference and one-in-five said the are worse off.
"Consumers are often the last ones to know what the benefits of a merger will be, and by then it's too late," said Eric Levy, director of research services for the Financial Services Research Group at Maritz Research.
Among those who felt worse off, the chief gripes were service isn't as personal (24%), higher fees (23%), service decreases (21%), additional fees (21%), and familiar branch employees have left (10%).
