The 2017 Greenwich Excellence Awards in Small Business Banking revealed branch service continues to play an important role in small business banking.
The awards recognized Frost Bank and Pinnacle Financial for plaudits, as each won 18 Greenwich Excellence Awards while BB&T won 17, and First Citizens Bank and First Tennessee each won 15.
“The fact nine of those 11 ( banks) also won national awards for Small Business Banking shows the quality of branch service remains an important criteria for small business clients and branches remain a highly relevant channel for banks competing in this segment,” Duncan Banfield, Greenwich Associates managing director, said.
The Greenwich Excellence Awards are based on interviews with over 15,000 small business banking clients with sales of $1 to $10 million and cover a range of product and service categories, including Overall Satisfaction, Likelihood to Recommend, Credit Process, Ease of Product Implementation, Customer Service and other factors.
“Middle market banking is more competitive than ever,” Dana Schwaeber, Greenwich Associates consultant, said. “In this environment, when banks are being aggressive in their sales calling and intensive in their client coverage, it’s harder than ever to stand out.”
Officials noted almost all of the 2017 Greenwich Excellence Award Winners also took home awards in 2016 – adding most past winners not only repeated the performance in 2017 but also took home awards in additional product and service categories.