The banking environment for consumers is not good, according to reports by Newsweek and MainStreet.com. Customers are paying more interest for loans and getting less interest for their deposits. Most economic analysts say the economy is recovering, but consumers are doing worse at the bank than even a few years ago.
The Credit Power Index, released early 2011, tracks consumer banking power by the difference in the rates consumers pay for loans and the rates they receive for deposits. Cities on the east coast and in the south ranked better overall, but there are exceptions.
The Credit Power Index only rates banks that offer all of these products: personal unsecured loans, home equity loans, new auto loans, adjustable rate mortgages and 12, 36, 48 and 60 month certificates of deposit.
Texarkana ranked number five in the index in best cities to bank. Both the large and small banks in Texarkana offered good rates overall.
New York City is fourth best on the list. The high cost of living in New York was offset somewhat by better-than-average personal unsecured loans.
Bronx, New York ranked third and Tupelo, Mississippi came in second due to their good rates on personal unsecured loans.
The best city for banking is Huston, Texas. The banks here offered consistently good rates on both certificates of deposit and loans.
What cities were the worst? Martinsburg, West Virginia ranked fifth worst, with high auto loans and adjustable rate mortgages.
Large banks hurt Harrisonburg, Virginia, fourth worst, with high home equity loan rates. Smaller banks there have higher than average rates on auto and home loans.
Kentucky’s London and Corbin came in third and second with average rates on certificates of deposit, but high rates on loans like auto and adjustable rate mortgages.
The worst US city for banking is Phoenix, Arizona. Though deposit interest rates are around average, they had the worst rate in the nation for home equity loans. Compass bank’s branch was the highest, almost 3% above the national average.