Most Canadians are very satisfied with their primary financial institutions, according to a recent Secor Consulting national telephone poll.

The survey found that an overwhelming 95% are satisfied and most (62%) Canadians are “very satisfied” with their primary bank or credit union. More than half (53%) would be “very likely” to recommend their institution to a friend or family member.

Beyond satisfaction, the majority of Canadians are “very likely” to recommend their bank or credit union to friends and family.

“With overall satisfaction at such a high level, it becomes critical for financial institutions to understand in detail what the drivers are that satisfy customers most,” said Secor Consulting partner, Petrina Dolby, in a news release.

One key factor that may be driving such high satisfaction and referral scores for Canada’s financial institutions is the multi channel approach the banks have implemented over the past years. Some 71% of Canadians are using three or more banking channels such as ATMs, Internet, in branch and telephone.

“Our findings indicate that access to financial information, services and products via a multitude of sources allows Canadians the 24×7 support they demand, and is likely one of the satisfaction drivers,” commented Dolby.

The results also indicate that different parts of Canadian society were more satisfied and more likely to recommend their banks. In fact, older Canadians (55+) were much more likely to recommend their financial institutions than were younger Canadians. Also, those with lower household incomes were more satisfied with their bank or credit union than more affluent households.

There were differences in how people banked that were highly correlated with age, income and education. Those people banking most often in person at branches tended to be most satisfied — “This seems to accurately support the Canadian banking philosophy that branches are not going away, rather being transformed to better suit micro demographics, in contrast to the majority of other countries who are still undergoing branch rationalization.” Dolby concluded.

Secor Consulting asked several questions on the Ipsos-Reid Canadian national Telephone Omnibus, January 9 – 11, 2007 with a random proportionate-to-population sample of 1,000 Canadian residents, 18 years of age or older. Questions focused on satisfaction with primary financial institutions, likelihood of recommending primary financial institution, and the type and number of banking channels used.