Nearly three in four, or 73%, of consumer loan customers are “financially unhealthy,” up from 67% last year, according to a new survey by J.D. Power. The firm also found that customer satisfaction with consumer loans is highest among those with the highest levels of financial health and lower among those who are overextended or financially vulnerable. J.D. Power measures financial health by combining customers’ spending/savings ratio, creditworthiness and safety net items like insurance coverage.
Seventy-nine percent of financially healthy customers are likely to return for their next loan compared to 55% of financially unhealthy customers, the firm said. Overall satisfaction for financially healthy customers was 797 on a 1,000-point scale, while overall satisfaction for financially unhealthy customers was 668. Customer satisfaction scores were 68 points higher when consumer loan customers have multiple products, such as credit cards, savings accounts and other types of loans. The survey also found that overall customer satisfaction scores were 176 points higher when consumer loan customers believe that their lender has a secure lending process that protects their personal information.