AMERICA’S BEST BANKS2021 Introducing Newsweek’s first RANKING of the financial institutions that best serve their customers’ needs in today’s challenging times CREDIT VISION/GETTY CREDIT DIGITAL 30 NEWSWEEK.COMNEWSWEEK.COM OCTOBER 16, 2020 LIKE VIRTUALLY Methodology MAINE EVERY THE BEST BIG BANK People's United Bank 17 MARYLAND IN EVERY STATE Bank of America 141 OTHER To identify America’s Best Banks, LendingTree in We looked for banks with a broad local footprint— MASSACHUSETTS consultation with Newsweek culled you don’t want to have to go too far out of your way Eastern Bank 83 candidates from among more when you need a branch or an ATM—that offer ASPECT OF than 2,500 FDIC-insured financial MICHIGAN institutions. LendingTree then applied a winning combination of low fees, competitive filters to narrow the candidates in interest rates and a broad array of services, including Huntington Bank 282 each category, based on the most a variety of loans and a high-performing mobile app. MINNESOTA OUR LIVES— salient features for each bank type work, school, shopping, leisure, you name it—the pandemic is changing the way or account; LendingTree supplied the U.S. Bank 132 Americans bank. And those changes, in turn, are creating a new set of challenges data and made recommendations for a MISSISSIPPI and opportunities when it comes to picking the bank that best suits our needs. proprietary scoring system developed For one thing, we have a newfound need and affection for savings accounts, by Newsweek, based on the most Renasant Bank 62 important factors for each type of bank evidenced by a more-than-doubling of the personal savings rate over the past or account. Data sources included MISSOURI several months, as the idea of building a solid emergency fund morphed from DepositAccounts.com, info published U.S. Bank 206 being an aspiration to an economic imperative. “The savings growth has been by each bank, FDIC reports, CFPB record-breaking,” says Ken Tumin, founder of the bank comparison site Depos- complaints and mobile app reviews. STATE | BANK | NO. OF BRANCHES FLORIDA MONTANA All together, 55 factors were itAccounts.com. But it’s tougher than ever to find a suitable account to house Bank of America 506 U.S. Bank 21 assessed, including various fees, those savings—one that doesn’t actually cost you money after factoring in fees, ALABAMA current and historical interest rates, GEORGIA NEBRASKA given that the average savings rate is now near zero. account terms, customer service PNC Bank 56 Bank of America 157 U.S. Bank 48 Meanwhile, lockdown mode is pushing many of us to finally embrace online features and mobile app scores. ALASKA banking in a major way. Traffic at local banks is down substantially compared to For state winners, the best big bank HAWAII NEVADA Wells Fargo 43 last year, with about half of customers who previously relied on physical branches needed to have at least one branch per 100,000 residents and $10 billion First Hawaiian Bank 53 U.S. Bank 79 ARIZONA and ATMs saying they’ve increased their use of mobile apps and 35 percent mak- in assets; the best small bank had to IDAHO NEW HAMPSHIRE ing more use of their bank’s website, according to consultants Kearney. Experts have less than $10 billion in assets Bank of America 129 believe the shift is likely to stick. “Once you get used to the technology and how and be among the five banks with the Washington Federal Bank 24 People's United Bank 25 easy and convenient it is to bank this way, it’s hard to go back,” says Tumin. most branches in the state. A bank ARKANSAS ILLINOIS NEW JERSEY Customer service is also becoming a more important consideration, as com- couldn’t have more than one branch to U.S. Bank 35 be considered for best online bank. For U.S. Bank 190 Investors Bank 109 plaints about financial services providers have surged, up 50 percent from March best customer service, a bank had to CALIFORNIA through July vs. the same time period in 2019, according U.S. PIRG. "The record have responded to at least 97 percent INDIANA NEW MEXICO U.S. Bank 560 of complaints filed with the CFPB in level of consumer complaints is a blaring red light First Merchants Bank 92 Washington Federal Bank 23 signaling the huge challenges consumers are fac- a timely fashion to be considered. COLORADO ing during the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Gideon To be considered for best online IOWA NEW YORK savings or online checking accounts, U.S. Bank 133 Weissman of Frontier Group. a bank had to have fewer than 100 U.S. Bank 82 Citibank 227 To help you navigate this new financial land- CONNECTICUT branches; banks needed more than KANSAS NORTH CAROLINA scape, Newsweek has partnered with Lending- 100 branches to win for either the People's United Bank 169 best checking or best savings account U.S. Bank 34 Bank of America 132 Tree, the financial services comparison site, for DELAWARE award. (For the full methodology, our first Best Banks rankings. From a universe of KENTUCKY NORTH DAKOTA go to newsweek.com/bb-2021.) Wilmington Savings more than 2,500 FDIC-insured institutions, we Newsweek exercised final editorial Fund Society 32 U.S. Bank 115 Bremer Bank 14 assessed U.S. banks and the savings and checking judgment when selecting winners. accounts they offer based on 55 factors to come Current interest rate information DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA LOUISIANA OHIO up with a best-in-class option in 18 categories. is accurate as of September 24, Citibank 16 Capital One 92 U.S. Bank 238 (Find the rankings online at newsweek.com/bb- 2020 and represents the highest rate a customer could earn, if all 2021.) One or more of these winning bank may qualifications are met. The complete be the perfect choice for your family. data set was last updated by → Diane Harris, Deputy Editor in Chief LendingTree on September 10, 2020. CREDIT 32 NEWSWEEK.COM OCTOBER 16, 2020 NEWSWEEK.COMNEWSWEEK.COM 33 STORYTAG STATE | BANK | NO. OF BRANCHES OKLAHOMA BEST MidFirst Bank 49 BIG BANK OREGON (OVERALL WINNER) Washington Federal Bank 46 Best Online With interest rates near zero and the Savings Account PENNSYLVANIA pandemic pushing people to do more of their PNC Bank 338 The pandemic has sparked a big jump in banking online, a great bank needs to deliver the personal savings rate and online RHODE ISLAND competitive rates, low or easily-waived fees savings accounts—which offer higher-than- average interest rates, accessibility and BEST Bank of America 28 and a superior mobile app. The best-in-class safety—are a good choice for emergency SOUTH CAROLINA choice also has to offer good customer service, funds. To identify a winner, Newsweek prioritized a combination of consistently 77 the option to visit a local branch and a variety Bank of America high rates, low fees and an outstanding SAVINGS SOUTH DAKOTA of financial products, including loans. The digital customer experience. winner here delivers on all counts. Wells Fargo 39 VARO BANK ACCOUNT TENNESSEE Varo Savings Account Just over half of bank customers prefer using Recent interest rate: 2.8% U.S. Bank 89 branch services some of the time to a digital- up to $10,000, then 0.81% TEXAS Minimum to open account: $0 only experience, J.D. Power reports—but you’ll Bank of America 355 sacrifice some yield to get this. To rise to the CITIBANK top in this category, a bank needed to have at UTAH NUMBER OF BRANCHES: MOBILE least 100 branches, consistently above-average JPMorgan Chase 49 APP SCORE savings rates and low fees. VERMONT (1 TO 5 SCALE): People's United Bank 38 VIRGINIA Bank of America 119 4.78 WASHINGTON Washington Federal Bank 81 700 4 3 2 1 0 TIMELY RESPONSE RECENT TOP Best Savings WEST VIRGINIA TO COMPLAINTS: SAVINGS RATE: Account for Kids WesBanco 44 HSBC WISCONSIN Young customers shouldn’t be penalized Direct Savings Account 100% 0.9% for having only modest sums to deposit. 116 U.S. Bank They’re kids, after all. For this category, WYOMING only special accounts for those under 18 FEE-FREE ATMS: were considered; priority factors included RECENT U.S. Bank 14 a low minimum to open the account, no or low fees and a decent interest rate to keep INTEREST PUERTO RICO RATE: young savers motivated. 0.5% Banco Popular 160 65,000+ CAPITAL ONE Kids Savings Account MONTHLY Recent savings rate: 0.5% MAINTENANCE Minimum to open/monthly fee: $0 FEE: CREDIT GETTY $0 34 NEWSWEEK.COM Icon illustrationsOCT ObyBER ILYA 16, LI 2020REN Photograph by IAN ROSS PETTIGREW NEWSWEEK.COMNEWSWEEK.COM 35 YOUR MONEY Best Certificates BEST of Deposit These timed savings accounts offer CUSTOMER higher interest rates for leaving your money untouched for a set period, so how much you earn was the most important consideration. Factors such SERVICE Best Regional Bank as penalties for withdrawing your Complaints about banks have risen sharply during the pandemic— money before the end of the term and Best Online Bank the minimum amount needed to open precisely when customers need good service the most. Banks with The winner took the top spot in more the account were also weighed. With lower overhead than brick-and- the fewest problems reported to the Consumer Financial Protection big-bank state rankings than any mortar institutions, banks that operate other financial institution in the primarily online typically offer higher Bureau, a timely response rate, a helpful mobile app and a variety database, dominating in the Midwest LIVE OAK BANK rates, plus lower fees.