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comScore’s State of Online Banking report reveals a few surprises, not all of them directly related to online banking.  Here are some of the top survey headlines about consumer sentiment toward financial institutions.

• Customer satisfaction for their primary financial institution decreased slightly (from 71% in 2009 to 70% in 2010)
• As markets redounded, satisfaction with online brokerages improved (from 58% last year to 64%)
• Consumers still see “free checking” as an important attribute for opening new accounts
• Consumers today, however, actually place much more emphasis on quality of customer service as a key attribute in account opening (from 4% in 2009 compared to 22% today)
• Importance of proximity of branches and ATMs declined 4% to 36%
• Online bill-pay usage saw a 19-point increase from last year (from 45% to 64%)
• Automatic/recurring bill pay saw a 10-point gain in the past year, with 52 percent of respondents now enrolled in the service
• Customer satisfaction with bank websites declined at top banks
• Those enrolled in paperless or e-statements grew to 58%, compared to 53% last year

“It is evident that the economic climate of the past year has affected not only consumers’ attitudes and perceptions of their financial institutions, but also how they are interacting with them,” said Marc Trudeau, comScore senior director, quoted in a company press release. “As economic conditions begin to improve, it will be important for banks and other financial institutions to focus intently on improving customer satisfaction and brand loyalty in order to retain and grow market share.”

The comScore 2010 State of Online Banking Report leverages behavioral data obtained via the comScore panel of 1 million U.S. Internet users as well as information gathered through a survey of more than 2,500 U.S. Internet users to provide an in-depth look at online banking.

To download a complimentary copy of the comScore 2010 State of Online Banking Report, please visit: http://www.comscore.com/OnlineBanking