Survey ranks Union Savings Bank as second in CT in pandemic response

Union Savings Bank (USB) has been recognized as a “Top Pandemic Performer,” ranking second in Connecticut by Banking Northeast magazine using the latest results from the Rivel Banking Benchmarks survey.

Headquartered in Danbury, USB was the top-ranked bank in Fairfield and Litchfield counties.

According to the magazine, Rivel Banking Benchmarks, the source of the ranking, is the largest survey of bank customers and prospects in the world. Its surveys are conducted online for over 4,000 banking institutions.

The survey entails interviews with hundreds of thousands of customers per year with respondents rating their banks (and their closest competitors) on up to 92 different metrics, from friendliness and responsiveness to the mobile app and ATM quality, to rates and fees, as well as timely questions related to an institution”™s response to the pandemic.

The survey asked customers across eight states in the Northeast (Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island) to rate how well their bank responded to the pandemic. Ratings were based upon 81,342 interviews from July 2020 to January 2021.

For Connecticut, there were 10 banks named as top performers. Jewett City Savings Bank in New London County topped the list, followed by USB. Newtown Savings Bank placed third and the Savings Bank of Danbury was ranked 10th.

“Our goal at the outset of the pandemic was and continues to be to keep our customers and employees safe while providing access to the important financial products and services our community needs,” USB President and CEO Cynthia Merkle said.

“Obviously, our hard work is paying off, our customers have noticed, and this acknowledgment is great validation,” she added. “It”™s particularly meaningful since the ranking comes from customer feedback.”