The percentage of U.S. bank customers who are financially healthy only modestly improved in August while the number of customers who say the cost of goods is increasing faster than they can afford has increased, according to the latest bank customer survey by J.D. Power.
The number of bank customers who were financially healthy rose slightly from 31% to 32% in August. At the same time, 44% of bank customers fell into the “vulnerable” category, down from 45% in July. J.D. Power measures financial health by combining consumers’ spending/savings ratio, creditworthiness and safety net items like insurance coverage.
Also, for the first time in four months, the number of bank customers who say that the cost of goods is increasing faster than their income increased, rising from 66% in July to 68% in August. Many customers said prices for goods such as gasoline and grocery items have gone down, although roughly one in three said they have not seen any improvement in prices.
“For banks, this creates an interesting dilemma,” J.D. Power said. “With so many customers making choices, both financial and political, based on inflation, yet such a sizeable portion of them refusing to track their finances, it is difficult to build an outreach strategy. Banks will need a multipronged approach that incorporates financial literacy, vigilance and planning to help customers out of the cycle of stress that they’ve been experiencing.”
