Customer Satisfaction Edges Up amid Crisis

The average customer's satisfaction with mortgage originators has risen slightly as consumer expectations have fallen and lenders have become more diligent, according to J.D. Power & Associates' yearly study. The average satisfaction rate for mortgage originators on a scale of 1-1,000 was 757, up seven points from the previous year. The top 10 ranked originators received the following scores: SunTrust Mortgage (790), National City Mortgage (788), Wachovia (786), Wells Fargo (766), Bank of America and Washington Mutual (both scored 764), CitiMortgage/CitiBank (760), GMAC Mortgage (742), Chase (729) and Countrywide (728). BoA, which slipped slightly to No. 5 this year, had held varying positions among the top three along with SunTrust and Wachovia the previous two years. National City, which ascended to No. 3 this year, had been ranked No. 4 in 2007.