BB&T Ranks Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Primary Mortgage Services WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., Aug. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Amid the turmoil inthe housing and mortgage markets, mortgage customers who report making atleast one late payment in the past 12 months indicate that lenders areshowing some flexibility in scheduling late payments, but tend to be lessunderstanding and accommodating of their circumstances when compared to2006, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Primary MortgageServicer Study(SM) released today. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050527/LAF028LOGO-a) The study measures customer satisfaction with the process of servicinga loan based on four primary areas: the administration of the customer'saccount; the billing process; the payment process; and the process ofcontacting the mortgage servicer. The study finds that while borrowers who have made late paymentsindicate their lenders are slightly more flexible in scheduling payments,customer ratings for the ability of lenders to understand their specificcircumstances and their willingness to work with them declined from the2006 study. "Despite lenders being flexible with late payment situations, customersstill feel as if their mortgage servicer is being less considerate of theirspecific circumstances," said Tim Ryan, senior research director of thefinance and insurance practice at J.D. Power and Associates. "It ismutually beneficial for both borrower and lender to work through thesedifficult time periods, and lenders can support the majority of thesecustomers by being even more considerate of their situation. Thesecircumstances often lead to the development of valuable, regular-payingcustomers." BB&T (Branch Banking and Trust) ranks highest in overall customersatisfaction with a score of 860 on a 1,000-point scale. M & T Mortgagefollows in the rankings with 828 and Citizens Bank ranks third overall witha score of 825. These lenders all perform particularly well in keepingbilling statement error rates lower than the industry average; providing awide range of options for making payments; providing flexibility whenscheduling electronic payments; designing and/or using automated phonesystems that address customer needs; and handling customer contacts quicklyand efficiently. USAA, a financial services provider open only to the U.S. militarycommunity and their families and therefore not included in the rankings,also achieves a high level of customer satisfaction. The study finds that there are considerable financial benefits forlenders in delivering a highly satisfying customer experience, includingincreased referrals and higher customer retention rates-which is thepercentage of customers who pay off a loan and then refinance or take out anew mortgage with their current lender. Specifically, doubling the rate ofcustomer retention from the industry average can result in an increase ofnearly 3 percent in mortgage servicing valuations, or approximately $38million for lenders with a $100 billion portfolio. "In addition to the benefit of increasing servicing right valuations,moving customers to high commitment levels can triple the number ofrecommendations, almost double the number of additional products that thecustomer utilizes and reduce marketing costs for generating new business,"said Ryan. "To achieve higher retention rates, lenders can first andforemost enhance the billing and payment process to make it moreconvenient, and dramatically reduce errors through systems such as e-mailnotifications and automatic payments." The study also finds that customers who say they "definitely willrefinance" with their current lender are much more likely to make monthlypayments via the Automated Clearing House (ACH) method, which allows thelender to take payments directly from the customer's bank account. ACH caneliminate issues with lost, late and misapplied payments, which allnegatively impact satisfaction. In addition, the elimination of high-impacterrors -- particularly, the mismanagement of tax and insurance escrowaccounts and payments -- and the prompt and precise resolution of problemscan directly and positively impact satisfaction. The 2007 Primary Mortgage Servicer Study is based on responses from11,481 home owners regarding their experiences with their primary mortgageservicer. The study was fielded in three waves in November 2006, February2007 and May 2007. For more information on customer satisfaction with home mortgageproviders, visit JDPower.com. Overall Primary Mortgage Servicer Satisfaction Ranking (Based on a 1,000-point scale) BB&T (Branch Banking and Trust) 860 M & T Mortgage 828 Citizens Bank 825 Countrywide Home Loans 824 SunTrust Mortgage 822 First Horizon Home Loans 818 Wells Fargo 817 GMAC Mortgage 816 Regions Mortgage 807 CitiMortgage 805 Chase 804 Bank of America 803 Washington Mutual 798 Industry Average 798 Wachovia 797 Fifth Third Bank 790 U.S. Bank 788 World Savings 787 PHH Mortgage 786 ABN AMRO Mortgage 784 National City Mortgage 784 IndyMac Bank 781 USDA RHS 772 CitiFinancial 771 Aurora Loan Services 762 American Home Mortgage 751 Everhome Mortgage 748 Beneficial 747 *HSBC Mortgage 742 Ameriquest Mortgage 738 CitiFinancial Mortgage 738 Homecomings Financial 733 Midland Mortgage Company 706 Greentree Mortgage 692 Litton Loan Servicing 688 EMC Mortgage Corporation 683 Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance 672 Option One Mortgage 669 Ocwen Financial 627 **USAA Federal Savings Bank 910 Included in the study but not ranked due to small sample size are:Charter One Bank, CIT Group, CitiCorp Trust Bank, Coldwell Banker,Ditech.com, First Franklin, Flagstar Bank, GreenPoint Mortgage, HomeEqServicing, Household Finance, Navy Federal Credit Union, Saxon Mortgage,Sovereign Bank, and Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage. *HSBC Mortgage may include responses for HSBC Mortgage Corporation(USA) and HSBC Mortgage Services. **USAA is a financial services provider open only to the U.S. militarycommunity and their families and therefore is not included in the rankings. About J.D. Power and Associates Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates isan ISO 9001-registered global marketing information services firm operatingin key business sectors including market research, forecasting, performanceimprovement, training and customer satisfaction. The firm's quality andsatisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumersannually. For more information on car reviews and ratings, car insurance,health insurance, cell phone ratings, and more, please visit JDPower.com.J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies. About The McGraw-Hill Companies Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP) is a leadingglobal information services provider meeting worldwide needs in thefinancial services, education and business information markets throughleading brands such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education,BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2006 were $6.3 billion. Additionalinformation is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com. Media Relations Contacts: Syvetril Perryman Danielle Kowalski J.D. Power and Associates Cohn & Wolfe 2625 Townsgate Road, Suite 100 8730 W Sunset Blvd., 5th Floor Westlake Village, Calif. 91361 Los Angeles, Calif. 90069 (805) 418-8103 (310) 967-2958 syvetril.perryman@jdpa.com danielle_kowalski@cohnwolfe.com No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the informationin this release without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power andAssociates. http://www.jdpower.com/corporate
