The administering of $669 billion in Paycheck Protection Plan loans to small businesses drove customer satisfaction with banks to a record high, according to J.D. Power’s Small Business Banking Satisfaction Survey released today. Small businesses gave their banks a satisfaction score of 822 out of 1,000—up 2 points from 2019.
Overall, 36% of small business banking customers applied for a PPP loan through their primary bank, which J.D. Power said drove customer satisfaction; businesses were significantly more satisfied when the PPP application was approved than when it was declined or still pending approval.
Larger small businesses, those with annual sales between $2.5 million and $20 million, had a nine-point increase in customer satisfaction from 2019, but smaller businesses with sales less than $2.5 million had a five-point decrease in satisfaction from a year ago. J.D. Power also found that satisfaction was “significantly higher” among small businesses who had a dedicated account manager at the bank.
The study also ranked banks by satisfaction in four U.S. regions. The highest-rated banks in each region were Bank of America (Midwest), Capital One (Northeast and South) and Chase (West).
