Webster Bank, Peoples United Are Among Nation’s "Most Reputable Banks"

Webster Bank and People’s United have been named among the "most reputable banks" in the country, according to the 2017 Survey of Bank Reputations, conducted by the independent organization Reputation Institute. Webster earned the highest score of any Northeast-based banks and ranked seventh overall in the United States. People’s United ranked at number 11.  The annual survey measures U.S consumers' perceptions of major bank brands.

American Banker, a trade publication focused on the banking industry, published the ranking of the most reputable banks in the country based on the Reputation Institute survey. More than 12,000 individual ratings were collected from customers and non-customers.  The ratings took into account citizenship, ethics/integrity, innovation, leadership, performance, products, services and workplace.

In its analysis, American Banker pointed out that regional institutions “are faring particularly well.”  Webster scored 76.4 while People's United scored 74.2.  The top-ranked institution, Georgia-based Synovus Financial, had a score of 80.7.

Stephen Hahn-Griffiths, an executive vice president at the Reputation Institute, said that while providing quality products and services is obviously important, it's a company's governance — or how it conducts business — that can make or break a reputation these days.

"The No. 1 thing people are looking for in terms of reputation of a bank is ethical behavior," said Hahn-Griffiths.

Of the 39 banks evaluated in this year's survey, more than half of them received "excellent" marks from their existing customers, up from just under a third of the banks in the 2016 survey. Perhaps more tellingly, over 30% received "strong" ratings from non-customers, versus zero in last year's survey.

Webster Bank, with its roots in Waterbury dating back to 1935, has over $25 billion in assets and 176 banking centers from greater New York City to Boston, offering a full range of financial services delivered by close to 3,000 employees. People's United, founded in 1842, is a premier, community-based, regional bank in the Northeast offering commercial and retail banking, as well as wealth management services through a network of nearly 400 retail locations and 5,000 employees  in Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.