First Niagara Receives Top Grades on Report Card

The City of New Haven and Yale Law School’s Community and Economic Development Clinic recently collaborated on a Community Impact Report Card (CIRC). The CIRC ranks New Haven banks on a 100 point scale in 30 different categories, from home loan applications accepted to overdraft fees. It was designed to help (1) consumers comparison-shop the different banks in their community, and (2) banks strengthen their product and service offerings.

According to the CIRC, “the central motivating principle behind the project is the belief that providing consumers with basic information about banking products and services will encourage banks to be more responsive to community needs.”

First Niagara ranked number 1 out of the 11 banks evaluated with a score of 74. First Niagara also received the highest point total in the home loan category. The report cited possible areas of improvement as well, such as extending branch hours beyond 6 pm on weeknights and offering student discounts.

The other 10 banks received the following scores, in descending order:

1. Bank of America (73)
2. People’s United Bank (68)
3. JPMorgan Chase Bank (66)
4. Bank of Southern CT (63)
5. Webster Bank (61)
6. RBS Citizens (tied-59)
7. TD Bank (tied-59)
8. Citibank (tied-56)
9. Sovereign Bank New England (tied-56)
10. Wells Fargo Bank (53)