- Key insight: Customer-satisfaction scores at superregional banks dropped 3% year over year, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index's 2026 Finance Study.
- What's at stake: The dip created a gap in customer satisfaction between superregionals and the largest banks, which maintained their prior score.
- Supporting data: Overall, banks scored 80 out of 100 on customer satisfaction, which was stable from the previous year.
Customer-satisfaction scores for superregional banks declined over the last year, creating a gap between their performance and the biggest banks' scores, and widening the advantage held by smaller banks.
Superregionals' scores decreased by 3% compared to the prior year, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index 2026 Finance Study, which was released Tuesday. The latest score for such banks was 77 out of 100, down from 79 last year and returning to the level of their 2024 performance.
The ACSI defines superregionals as those that have at least $50 billion of assets but are smaller than the nation's Big 4 banks — JPMorganChase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citi. The aggregate customer-satisfaction score for those banks held steady at 79, according to the report.
The slip among superregionals drove an even wider gap between them and smaller regional and community banks, whose aggregate customer-satisfaction score was 83 out of 100 for the second year in a row. That topped the banking industry's overall score, which came in at 80 for the third year in a row.
The gap in scores between superregionals and big banks may reflect the difference in scale between the two groups, with the latter having a much broader physical presence and more resources, both of which matter in terms of accessibility, said Forrest Morgeson, director of research emeritus at the American Customer Satisfaction Index.
The gap between superregionals and smaller banks reflects higher satisfaction among smaller-bank customers, Morgeson said. Regional and community banks, which are often viewed as having more of a "community feel," scored higher than superregionals and big banks in all categories, except for the location and number of branches and ATMs, according to the report.
"There's certainly a story to be told that we're seeing pressure put on [superregionals] as a whole that's not being put on regional or national banks," Morgeson, who is also an associate professor of marketing at Michigan State University, told American Banker. "It's tough to say … but it may be the downside of not quite being a national bank or a regional bank."
The American Customer Satisfaction Index is a multi-industry measure of customer satisfaction in the U.S. In addition to banks, the annual finance study includes customer viewpoints on credit unions, financial advisory firms and online investment platforms.
Financial advisory firms scored 82 out of 100, the highest score among the four categories. Online investment firms achieved a score of 79, while credit unions came in at 78.
This year's findings are based on 14,210 surveys that were completed throughout the course of 2025 by actual customers of financial institutions. Customers were asked to evaluate their recent experiences with their financial institutions.
Of the 10 superregional banks that got scores in both 2025 and 2026, two maintained their previous scores, while the rest saw their scores decrease. Regions Bank, the banking subsidiary of Regions Financial, experienced the steepest decline in satisfaction among the superregionals, with its score falling 7% year over year. The Birmingham, Alabama-based bank received a score of 77, down from 83 last year.
Regions did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment.
Citizens Bank, the banking arm of Providence, Rhode Island-based Citizens Financial Group, had the second-largest decline. Its score declined 4% year over year, coming in at 74.
A Citizens spokesperson declined to comment on the findings.
The highest-scoring superregional was USAA Bank, whose score was 82, down from 84 last year. Huntington Bank, the banking subsidiary of Huntington Bancshares, came in second with a score of 81, followed by TD Bank with a score of 80.
The report doesn't pinpoint the exact reasons for an individual bank's change in score. But it does offer an overview of customer satisfaction across 12 benchmarks, including the number and location of branches and ATMs, the competitiveness of interest rates and the effectiveness of call-center help.
Superregionals as a whole scored below big banks in all categories. They scored below regional and community banks in all categories except for the number and location of branches.
Though other industries are improving their satisfaction scores, the banking industry's stable score of 80 is still "pretty good," Morgeson said. "We've seen a lot of disruption in this industry with the introduction of new technologies, so stability is not a bad outcome in this case."
One factor to watch next year: whether or not mergers and acquisitions impact customers' satisfaction with their banks. M&A activity increased noticeably last year.
In the past, more consolidation has led to heightened customer dissatisfaction, Morgeson said.
"If we do have a wave of M&A activity, we could see a year or two where scores follow a negative trajectory," Morgeson said.
