why the French remain more and more loyal to their bank

The French are loyal. According to research firm Bain & Company, the number of customers changing establishments has been falling steadily for two years. And the decline has been notable since the health crisis, specifically since 2020.

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The context of the time, with confinements and limited travel, had distanced the relationship between bankers and their customers, even if these relationships remained very real by necessity. Then came a period of great economic uncertainty, less conducive to change. Finally, the banks succeeded in consolidating the links they had with their customers. Without the crisis, the situation might have evolved differently.

Let’s take 2022 as the base year. The share of customers who chose to change banks last year fell by just over 4% compared to 2021. 2021 had already seen a drop in departures of almost 5%. Exception to the rule: wealthy customers and especially young people who are much more on the move than their elders. The proportion of 25-34 year olds who changed financial institution increased by 7% last year, by nearly 6% among 18-24 year olds.

New expectations and ecological transition

With well-established customers, we seek the security of the service and the human relationship with their bank advisor, a guarantee of more successful service in the face of digitization, which distances dialogue. Without being totally closed to digital, customers of traditional banks do not refuse a hybrid system with human contact in branches and services provided in real time via a computer application for example. For their part, young people are much more open to online services. This pushes traditional banks to constantly adapt their offer to satisfy all types of customers without breaking the economic model.

Finally, the environment is a big issue. According to the Bain & Company study, 20% of customers are ready to change banks for a more responsible establishment in terms of ecological transition. They are 30% in the under 30s. A real competitive challenge for bankers.