Bank Customers in Canada Still Feel Economic Pinch, Look to Banks for Financial Advice, J.D. Power Finds

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 27, 2024--

Although interest rates and inflation have started to trend downward, many bank customers in Canada are still feeling the economic squeeze and the majority of them express interest in receiving financial advice from their bank, according to the J.D. Power 2024 Canada Retail Banking Advice Satisfaction Study, SM released today. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of bank customers are experiencing some level of financial distress 1 and 80% indicate interest in receiving advice from their financial institution.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240627394613/en/

“Bank customers’ appetites for financial advice is high and an increase in quality advice will only increase their customer satisfaction,” said Jennifer White, senior director for banking and payments intelligence at J.D. Power. “Therefore, providing personalized advice is mutually beneficial as customers who receive it are taking actions and benefitting financially, while banks are experiencing strong engagement and brand advocacy.”

Following are some key findings of the 2024 study:

Study Ranking

RBC Royal Bank ranks highest in customer satisfaction for a fourth consecutive year, scoring 582 points. Scotiabank (568) ranks second and the segment average is 566.

The Canada Retail Banking Advice Satisfaction Study was redesigned this year. The 2024 study includes responses from 2,822 retail bank customers across Canada who received any advice/guidance from their primary bank regarding relevant products and services or other financial needs in the past 12 months. It measures customer satisfaction with retail bank advice/guidance based on performance in five core dimensions on a poor-to-perfect rating scale. Individual dimensions measured are (in order of importance): clarity; concern for needs; relevancy; quality; and frequency. The study was fielded from January through March 2024.

In addition to bank financial advice ratings, the study also provides financial health support index benchmarking data that evaluates proficiency of banks and credit card issuers in delivering financial support to customers doing such things as helping customers make better financial decisions or help customers meet savings, creditworthiness, or budgeting goals. The study also captures responses from customers about their satisfaction with the financial health support provided by their financial partners. Top-performing banks in the banking financial health support index are (in alphabetical order): BMO Bank of Montreal and RBC Royal Bank. Top-performing credit card providers in the credit card financial support index are (in alphabetical order): Desjardins, RBC Royal Bank and Scotiabank.

For more information about the Canada Retail Banking Advice Satisfaction Study, visit https://www.jdpower.com/business/financial-health-and-advice-satisfaction-study.

See the online press release at http://www.jdpower.com/pr-id/2024060.

About J.D. Power

J.D. Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services, and data and analytics. A pioneer in the use of big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithmic modelling capabilities to understand consumer behaviour, J.D. Power has been delivering incisive industry intelligence on customer interactions with brands and products for more than 55 years. The world's leading businesses across major industries rely on J.D. Power to guide their customer-facing strategies.

J.D. Power has offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. To learn more about the company's business offerings, visit JDPower.com/business.

About J.D. Power and Advertising/Promotional Rules:www.jdpower.com/business/about-us/press-release-info

1 J.D. Power measures the financial health of any consumer as a metric combining their spending/savings ratio, creditworthiness, and safety net items like insurance coverage. Consumers are placed on a continuum from healthy to vulnerable.

J.D. Power 2024 Canada Retail Banking Advice Satisfaction Study (Graphic: Business Wire)

PANAMA CITY (AP) — A judge has acquitted 28 people accused of money laundering in an international case known as the Panama Papers, including the co-founder of a law firm that authorities say was at the center of a conspiracy to hide money linked to illegal activities.

Jürgen Mossack founded Mossack & Fonseca with then associate Ramón Fonseca, who died in May. Mossack was acquitted on Friday along with others after a Panamanian judge found that the evidence against Mossack didn't comply with the chain of custody after authorities raided the office of the now defunct firm.

Prosecutors had accused Mossack, Fonseca and others of creating offshore companies and using complex transactions to hide money from illegal activities related to the so-called car wash corruption scandal involving Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, which pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court to a charge related to using shell companies to hide millions of dollars in bribes paid worldwide to win public contracts.

The judge noted that other evidence in the Panama Papers case “was not sufficient and conclusive to determine the criminal responsibility of the accused.”

In addition, the judge lifted personal and property precautionary measures against all the defendants, according to a judicial statement.

“We feel satisfied in the midst of mixed emotions, because many lives were affected along the way,” Guillermina Mc Donald, who was the defense attorney for Mossack and Fonseca, told The Associated Press. Her firm also represented 80% of the accused firm’s collaborators.

Judge Balaoisa Marquínez had decided to combine the Panama Papers case with another known as “Operation Car Wash,” a major anti-corruption investigation that began in Brazil.

On Friday, she ruled that in the car wash case, “it was not possible to determine the entry of money from illicit sources, coming from Brazil, into the Panamanian financial system with the purpose of hiding, concealing, disguising or helping to evade the legal consequences of the preceding crime.”

In June 2022, Mossack, Fonseca and 37 other people were acquitted in a separate money laundering case.

The investigation in Brazil began in 2014, with the Mossack & Fonseca firm later coming under scrutiny after 11 million financial documents tied to the company were leaked.

The repercussions of the leak were widespread: it led to the resignation of a prime minister in Iceland and brought scrutiny to now former leaders of Argentina and Ukraine, Chinese politicians and Russian President Vladimir Putin, among others.

FILE - Juergen Mossack, partner of the law firm Mossack-Fonseca, leaves the Supreme Court during the trial of the "Panama Papers" money laundering case in Panama City, April 8, 2024. On Friday, a Panamanian judge acquitted Mossack and 27 other people who were accused of money laundering in the notorious Panama Papers case. (AP Photo/Agustin Herrera, File)