KeyBank Continues to Receive Industry Recognition for Its Commitment to Customer Service, Online Banking

CLEVELAND, April 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- KeyBank (NYSE: KEY) continues to be recognized for its commitment to customer service across multiple business segments, including consumer and commercial banking, as well as treasury management.

Key recently was cited for excellence in overall satisfaction in personal banking and treasury management by two of the nation's leading providers of market intelligence, Greenwich & Associates and Phoenix-Hecht. Additionally, Corporate Insight's 2010 Bank Monitor Awards Report recognized Key as a multiple award winner for its online site Key.com. Key was the only bank to receive a gold award for online applications.

Key's customer service recognition validates its ongoing strategy as a relationship bank and focus on customers. Key's continued recognition comes despite the fact that overall customer satisfaction across the retail and e-commerce industries, as measured by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), has not improved since the middle of 2009, and currently reflects the biggest drop in two years.

Greenwich & Associates Recognition

In its recently-released survey results, Greenwich Associates recognized Key as a national and regional winner of two Excellence Awards for 2010 including:

• Overall satisfaction with Personal Banking in the category of Small Business Banking, based on 14,000 interviews with businesses from $1-10 million in U.S. sales, and;  

• Overall satisfaction with Treasury Management for Middle Market Banking in the Northeast U.S., based on 10,000 interviews with businesses from $10-500 million in U.S. sales.

Among more than 750 banks Greenwich & Associates evaluated, Key was among 33 that delivered distinctive quality.

Phoenix-Hecht Recognition

Phoenix-Hecht 2011 Treasury Management Monitor™ , awarded KeyBank ratings of "A+" or "A" across a breadth of treasury management categories for middle market companies ($40-$500 million in revenue ) and large corporate companies($500+ million in revenue), including customer service, overall Relationship Manager effectiveness and products.  

Bank Monitor Report Recognition

Finally, Corporate Insight's Bank Monitor Report cited Key's external website, Key.com, as a gold award winner for ease of opening new accounts through the use of online forms. In the report, Key received the only Gold award for online applications.  

"We take immense pride in this independent affirmation of our strong commitment to small and middle market businesses, as well as to consumers," said Beth Mooney, president and chief operating officer of KeyCorp. "As the economic recovery gains momentum, we recognize the importance of these segments as drivers of the economy. We have an ongoing commitment to support these individuals and businesses through lending and cash management, flexible options, capital and expertise to help them thrive."              

KeyBank Customer Service Recognition 2009-2010

The latest Greenwich, Phoenix-Hecht and Bank Monitor results are the most recent in a series of recognitions Key has received for outstanding customer service in the past 24 months, including:

• In 2010, Key scored significantly higher than its four largest competitor banks in a third quarter 2010 customer satisfaction survey conducted by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). KeyBank's survey results were based on feedback from one-thousand Key clients.

• In Corporate Insight's 2010 Bank Monitor Awards Report, the premier independent ranking service for the online space, Key was cited for enhancements made to its online banking site, Key.com for application capabilities, banking account information and account transfer capabilities; and banking alerts and customer help features.

• Key's Call Centers in 2010 were ranked second in the nation in a survey conducted by O'Connor & Associates, a New Jersey benchmarking firm, on such measures as customer rapport, product knowledge, cross selling and successfully offering a product or service to prospective customers.

• In 2009, Key was named a Top-25 Customer Service Champ by BusinessWeek, the top bank on the list. KeyBank ranked 11th out of 25 companies known for their service acumen.

About KeyCorp

Cleveland-based KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $92 billion. Key companies provide investment management, retail and commercial banking, consumer finance, and investment banking products and services to individuals and companies throughout the United States and, for certain businesses, internationally. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank is Member FDIC.      

About Greenwich & Associates

Greenwich Associates' principal business objective is to provide decision-makers in financial services with expert advice for their most critical strategic issues based upon a unique combination of comprehensive market research and in-depth analysis.

About Phoenix-Hecht  

The Phoenix-Hecht Cash Management Monitor Surveys target both public and private U.S. corporations with sales of $40 million and greater. It ranks corporations in three performance categories: Product Performance, Bank Perception and Relationship Management. Phoenix-Hecht has been one of the nation's foremost providers of market research and education for the financial services industry for more than 40 years. More information is available at www.phoenixhecht.com.

About Corporate Insight

Corporate Insight provides a comprehensive selection of syndicated research to 90% of the top financial service companies within the Fortune 500, representing 70% of the brokerage industry and 60% of US banking assets. Their expert analysts compile highly detailed research audits that deliver a unique, firsthand understanding of financial service product offerings. All of their research is compiled through personal interaction with each website. Further information about Corporate Insight is available at http://www.corporateinsight.com.    

SOURCE KeyBank