NEW YORK–Forbes has released its latest list of the “Best-in-State Banks and Credit Unions,” with a Maryland CU topping the credit union list. Overall, credit unions were rated higher than banks overall on service.
Based on a survey of 25,000 people in the U.S. who were asked about their banking relationships, Forbes partnered with market research firm Statista to arrive at its findings. According to Forbes, consumers were asked 20 questions about their financial dealings, with banks and credit unions rated on overall recommendations and satisfaction, as well as five subdimensions (trust, terms and conditions, branch services, digital services and financial advice). Overall scores ranged from 57.2 to 96.2.
National financial institutions with branches in at least 15 states were excluded from the final rankings. The 13 nationwide banks omitted included Bank of America, Chase Bank, PNC Financial, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo. Navy Federal Credit Union, which operates in 30 states, was the only credit union eliminated for its scale.
‘Generally Good Reviews’
Between one and five banks and up to 10 credit unions in larger states were awarded best-in-state designation, based on the number of responses in each state. Overall, 182 credit unions and 149 banks qualified, or 3.1% of the total number of U.S. financial institutions.
“Americans generally gave their banking institutions good reviews on satisfaction with scores of 4.2 on average on a scale of one to five,” Forbes reported. “But banks can’t touch credit unions; they averaged 4.5.”
Forbes said its survey identified leading credit unions, with the top score overall (96.2) as First Peoples Community Credit Union. The Cumberland, Md., institution was founded in 1959 to serve the financial needs of the Amcelle Corp., but has since expanded to serve select counties in Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
“The credit union scored above average across the board but was best for branch services and digital services for its more than 30,000 members/owners,” Forbes said.
4 CUs Highly Ranked in Multiple States
Forbes said it found four credit unions that qualified as best-in-state in multiple locales. Chicago-based BCU, which originally was founded four decades ago as the credit union for Baxter Healthcare, finished in the top four in both Illinois and Minnesota. Digital Federal Credit Union was ranked highly in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire, Forbes said.
Mountain America Credit Union finished first for Utah (its home market) and fifth in Idaho. San Antonio-based Security Service FCU ranked in the top three in both Colorado and Texas.
Best-Performing Banks
On the bank side, Forbes said Huntington was the best-performing bank across multiple states. The Columbus, Ohio-based bank, which has $108 billion in assets, graded very well in six states, including first in Kentucky and Wisconsin and second in Michigan and Pennsylvania. No other bank ranked first in more than one state. Trust was the top attribute Huntington customers assigned their bank, Forbes reported.
“Huntington is pushing forward with new initiatives to service its customer base,” Forbes stated. “The latest is an artificial intelligence enhancement to its digital platform called Huntington Heads Up. Features include alerts when a balance might not cover upcoming charges based on typical spending; subscription payment alerts, including when free trials are ending; and protection on double charges from vendors.”
Capital One was the only other bank to rate highly in more than three states, with digital services its strongest attribute.
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For the list of credit unions, go here.