LendEDU Releases Study on CFPB Banking Complaints

For the most part, mobile banking works pretty well, and allows us all to carry out our standard banking chores more readily. Yet, sometimes, banks run afoul of certain issues, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) helps keep track of these issues and resolve at least some of them. Recently, LendEDU sent word our way about the numbers for the CFPB in 2018, and some of the results might surprise you.

LendEDU went through 244,114 complaints the CFPB received in 2018, and reduced this down to a pool of 42,946 complaints from 73 banks found on the S&P Banks Select Industry index. LendEDU even found some banks that didn’t have any complaints against them whatsoever for the entirety of 2018, and featured said banks accordingly.

First off, bad news for TCF Financial Corporation customers; the bank maintained its number-one slot for the second year in a row in terms of complaints per billion dollars in deposits at 11.24 complaints per billion. Citizens and Fifth Third both went up a notch, while SunTrust dropped two notches. Rounding out the top five highest complaints was Comerica at 6.86 per billion, up two slots.

Second, banking-related complaints per billion. Bad news again, TCF customers; you’re back in the number one slot two years running at 6.7. Second place is Citizens, up four slots with 3.76. SunTrust is third with 3.51, up one slot, and Regions Financial Corporation makes the list for the first time at 3.21, up one slot. Rounding out the top five is Fifth Third, up five slots from 2017 with 3.09 complaints.

Finally, the no-complaints roster. The top five here were SVB Financial Group, Wintrust Financial Corporation, Hancock Whitney Corporation, Columbia Banking System Inc., and FCB Financial Holdings Inc.

Some may think twice about opening up new accounts with the major banks, since they seem to end up with the most complaints. Of course, there’s a lot more business being done here; for example, TCF accounted for $18.5 billion in deposits, but Citizens accounted for $117.08 billion. That’s a black eye for TCF, certainly, but given that SVB accounted for $48.6 billion in deposits but with no complaints, the situation only looks worse.

The records are readily available, reports note, so checking on your own bank shouldn’t be difficult.