Will 'Bank Transfer Day' Be a Success for Consumers?

November 5 has been widely championed as "Bank Transfer Day." Consumer advocacy groups around the world have been urging customers or large banks such as Citibank, Bank of America and Chase to transfer their funds to credit unions and community banks.

The event has been put forth as a means of venting widespread public frustration with banks. Many of these institutions were salvaged by the taxpayer-funded TARP bailout package in 2008 only to later impose new fees on debit cards and checking accounts during a period when most Americans are suffering from high unemployment, home foreclosures and personal debt.

Now, a new survey from Harris Interactive shows many of these institutions may suffer lost accounts to credit unions and small competitors. According to the report, only two in five Bank of America customers are extremely or very likely to hold their accounts (40 percent), compared to 46 percent among JPMorgan Chase customers and just over half of Wells Fargo clients.

"Customers express their loyalty through their actions, but the underlying motivation for these actions is rooted in the degree to which the bank connects with its customers on both a rational and emotional level," said Carol Gstalder, an executive vice president at Harris Interactive.