The overall financial health of bank customers hit its lowest level in nearly a year in September, according to J.D. Power’s most recent survey on the subject. Only 29% of respondents said they are financially healthy, while 46% said they are vulnerable. The drop in financial health was accompanied by a decline in customer satisfaction with their primary financial institution, which reached a series low.
Ten percent of bank customers said they do not have an emergency savings account, while 44% have emergency funds in a savings account at their primary bank. More than one-fourth (28%) of customers said they used their emergency savings in the past 90 days to pay for gas, food or rent.
The survey also found a renewed focus on savings outside of employer-sponsored retirement accounts. Forty-four percent of customers said their non-retirement funds are in either a savings or higher-yield account at their primary bank, while 24% said an investment or wealth management firm, and 15% said a secondary bank. Forty-one percent said they do not have any savings outside of a retirement account.
