JPMorgan Chase & Co. customers say they're not going anywhere at least for now.
Tripti Zehdnicker, a Florida real estate agent, said she's sticking with JPMorgan after the largest U.S. lender disclosed that 76 million households and 7 million small businesses were affected by a data breach earlier this year.
"Today it's Chase and tomorrow it could be Bank of America," Zehdnicker, 39, said yesterday outside JPMorgan's Miami headquarters, adding that the attack worries her. "I don't see how switching banks would make much of a difference."
Ryan Bowers, who said he works at an accounting firm, echoed that sentiment during an interview in Chicago.
"This can happen at any bank," said Bowers, 29, of Lockport, Ill. "It's alarming."
JPMorgan sought to reassure customers there's no evidence account numbers and passwords were taken, even as names and contact data were exposed. The New York-based bank, which has 65 million customers and reaches half of all U.S. households, said the biggest threat now is phishing, in which criminals try to dupe people into handing over more valuable data.
Noemaris Burgos, a JPMorgan customer of seven years who said she works at a Chicago popcorn shop, said she called the bank "right away" after reading about the extent of the breach and that her concerns were alleviated.
"I'm sticking with the bank," said Burgos, 27. "I haven't had any problem with the bank."
Trish Wexler, a JPMorgan spokeswoman, said customers aren't pulling their deposits or leaving the bank because of the breach. Interviews conducted with about a dozen customers in four U.S. cities supported that statement.
"We're encouraging our customers to contact us if they have questions, but so far it feels that people are understanding the information that's out there," she said.
The bank's shares climbed 2.5 percent to $60.30 yesterday, the most since July 15 and the best performance in the 24- company KBW Bank Index.
Michael McKenzie, a tax attorney in Miami, said he wants to hear from JPMorgan about its response to the attack and isn't convinced that the bank can guarantee the safety of his passwords and other sensitive information.
"Everybody is getting hacked right now," said McKenzie, 36. "You can't always tell what data was taken."
McKenzie said he will scrutinize his bank statements before determining whether to change his account.
JPMorgan may be weathering the fallout better than other firms that suffered breaches in which payment-card data were stolen. An attack on retailer Target Corp. last year led to the departure of Chief Executive Officer Gregg Steinhafel after Bloomberg Businessweek reported the company ignored warnings from its hacker-detection tools. Target sales slumped and it missed earnings estimates as it struggled to regain shoppers' trust.
"I was more worried when it was Target because it affected my account, they had to close it," Gabriella Carlos, a Los Angeles chiropractor, said outside a Chase branch on Wilshire Boulevard. "I've had credit cards stolen before, but with Chase they have always caught it."
Changing banks takes time and often requires paying fees, said Fernando Rivera, a New York bicycle courier.
"I don't have that much money, so I don't want to be jumping from bank to bank," Rivera, 50, said yesterday outside a Chase branch in midtown Manhattan. "That's money out of my pocket."
