‘‘I’d side with George Bailey over Mr. Potter any day of the week,’’ said Miller, 39, referring to the film ‘‘It’s a Wonderful Life.’’ ‘‘But I have multiple accounts with Bank of America going back over two decades. If I were less busy, I’d probably be looking around.’’
Smaller rivals and anti-Wall Street protesters have launched campaigns to persuade depositors to leave the nation’s largest banks, such as Bank of America, Citigroup Inc. of New York, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. of New York, and Wells Fargo & Co. of San Francisco. But analysts predict the vast majority of customers will stay put. Many appreciate the convenience of vast networks of ATMs and branches and the variety of services offered by the biggest banks.
And many like Miller, annoyed as they might be, just don’t want to deal with switching accounts.
That’s especially true for customers who use direct deposit, online banking, and electronic bill payments. Just 1.5 percent of checking customers with all three services change banks each year, compared to 20 percent with a checking account alone, according to Celent, a Boston financial consulting firm.
More than half of all bank customers use direct deposit and nearly 40 percent use online bill pay, according to AlixPartners LLP, a global consulting firm with an office in Boston.
‘‘It takes a lot for someone to switch,’’ said Gerard Lavoie, chief operating officer for Dedham Institution for Savings, a community bank with eight branches. ‘‘Someone’s back has to be totally up against the wall to make a move.’’
Jane Carole Bunting, 32, of Jacksonville, Fla., began as a customer of First Union Bank of Charlotte, N.C., which merged with Wachovia, also of North Carolina, to become one of the nation’s largest banks. Wachovia was bought in 2008 by Wells Fargo, where Bunting still has her checking and savings accounts, mutual funds, and a credit card.
She also has complaints.
