Female small business owners report being more satisfied with their banking relationships than their male counterparts do, according to a J.D. Power survey released today. Women — who account for a little more than one in three small business owners — reported an overall satisfaction level of 766 out of 1,000, compared to 746 for men. Across the board, satisfaction levels declined from 766 in 2014 to 754 this year.
Meanwhile, black small business owners reported the highest level of satisfaction with their banks with a rating of 785, followed by Hispanics at 781. White borrowers rated their banks 754 and Asian Americans had a satisfaction rating of 744.
Critical to small business banking satisfaction was having a bank official as a “trusted adviser” to the business. Respondents reported an overall satisfaction level of 825 when they had this kind of relationship, while those whose account manager had not established a relationship as a trusted adviser provided a satisfaction level of 636. Highly satisfied small business customers were also twenty percentage points more likely to have their personal accounts with their primary business bank than those with lower satisfaction levels.
The survey included satisfaction ratings of 16 regional and large banks. JPMorgan Chase had the highest rating in the Midwest and West, while TD Bank was rated highest in the Northeast and Citigroup was rated highest in the South.
