The article on home banking is the last of a five-part series on the 1997 American Banker survey of financial consumers.
The results were gathered in telephone interviews by the Gallup Organization of Princeton, N.J., from Oct. 10 through Nov. 6, with 1,001 adult heads of household. Each respondent had at least one deposit, investment, or loan account with a bank or other financial service provider.
As covered in previous installments:
*Public confidence in the banking and financial system hit a new high. Nine out of 10 expressed some degree of confidence in the financial infrastructure's safety and security, and 85% deemed it healthy. (Dec. 19)
*The high confidence level did not carry over to customers' satisfaction with their principal financial institutions. The number "very satisfied" with service fell a point, to 58%, and would have been lower if not for the 73% registered by credit unions. (Dec. 22)
*The banks' MasterCard and Visa brands continued to lead competitors by wide margins, but it was less clear how those cards fit into the deeper customer relationships bankers are trying to forge. (Dec. 23)
*The penetration of automated teller machine cards hit a wall at 66%, and cardholders were openly hostile to transaction fees. (Dec. 26)
American Banker plans to publish a more extensive survey report including these articles and more detailed tabulations. For information call 800-367-3989 or 212-803-8368.
