Money Talk: FDIC adopts final rule to amend how small banks are assessed for deposit insurance

Editor’s note: Each Monday, Talk Business & Politics provides “Money Talk,” a wrap-up of banking and financial news.

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FDIC ADOPTS FINAL RULE TO AMEND HOW SMALL BANKS ARE ASSESSED FOR DEPOSIT INSURANCE
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation board of directors approved a final rule on April 26 that amends the way small banks are assessed for deposit insurance. The final rule affects banks with less than $10 billion in assets that have been FDIC insured for at least five years. It updates the data and revises the methodology that the FDIC uses to determine risk-based assessments for these institutions to better reflect risks and to help ensure that banks that take on greater risks pay more for deposit insurance than their less risky counterparts.

The new rule is being touted as revenue-neutral, so that aggregate assessment revenue collected from established small banks is expected to be approximately the same as it would have been otherwise. The FDIC has revised the online assessment calculator that allows institutions to estimate their assessment rates to reflect the final rule, which will also be used to determine assessment rates for small banks beginning the quarter after the Deposit Insurance Fund reserve ratio reaches 1.15%, but no earlier than the third quarter of this year.

SURVEY: BANK CUSTOMER LOYALTY DECLINING
One in 3 consumers would consider leaving their bank for a better online or mobile experience, while 47% would consider Target or Walmart as a banking alternative, according to new market research by NTT Data Inc. In January 2016, the Plano, Texas-based research firm surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. consumers and more than 100 U.S. bankers to investigate core deposit system modernization efforts at leading U.S. banks and the rising threat of consumers looking for banking alternatives.

The complete report will be published in June 2016. To request a copy, visit here.

ARVEST SCORES HIGHEST ‘CUSTOMER SATISFACTION’ RATING IN SOUTHWEST REGION, J.D. POWER SURVEY SAYS
Bentonville-based Arvest Bank was ranked highest in customer satisfaction across the expansive Southwest Region in J.D. Power’s 2016 U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study. According to the highly-watched survey of eleven regions across the U.S., big banks have significantly improved in overall customer satisfaction, while midsize banks have declined and regional banks have plateaued. Arvest scored 843 on a 1,000-point scale.

The 11th annual J.D. Power’s customer satisfaction study is the longest-running and most in-depth survey of the U.S. retail banking industry, with more than 75,000 customers evaluating various aspects of their banking experience, including satisfaction in account information, channel activities, facility, fees, problem resolution and product offerings. To see the full study, click here.