Banks create value by first winning customers and then deepening those relationships through meaningful experiences that foster loyalty and retention. However, Forrester’s new Total Experience Score rankings — covering 60 banking brands across France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the UK — reveal a concerning reality: Many European banks’ brand promises aren’t resonating, and customer experience remains stubbornly mediocre.

So what’s falling short — and which banks are getting it right?

What Is Forrester’s Total Experience Score?

When companies consistently deliver experiences that align with their brand promise — for both customer and noncustomer segments — they create a unified and compelling total experience.

That’s exactly what Forrester’s Total Experience Score captures. By combining our new Brand Experience Index (BX Index™) with our well-established Global Customer Experience Index (CX Index™), this composite metric indicates brands’ ability to acquire new customers and serve existing ones, and how brand and customer experiences work together to shape perception. The Total Experience Score reflects the perceptions formed by customers and noncustomers through their interactions with a brand.

The Big Picture: Few Banks Truly Stand Out

When we mapped the performance of 60 European banking brands across Forrester’s Total Experience Growth Grid — segmented into four quadrants — leading, plateauing, churning, and lagging — only 19 earned the “leading” distinction. The top-performing brand was the UK-based Nationwide Building Society, with a score of 62.7, while the French bank Société Générale landed at the bottom with 40.7. Here are some key insights:

  • Total Experience leaders consistently outperform peers on both BX and CX. Brands such as ING (Germany, Spain, Poland), ASN Bank (Netherlands), Handelsbanken (Sweden), Nationwide Building Society (UK), Crédit Mutuel (France), and Banca Mediolanum (Italy) consistently outperform peers on both BX and CX. This demonstrates the strong connection between brand and CX. A prospect’s perception of a brand — shaped by marketing, media, and peer reviews — influences whether they trust it to meet their needs. Once they become customers, their lived experience with the company reshapes that brand perception, either reinforcing or eroding it. This BX/CX duality drives loyalty, as strong brand equity attracts customers while great CX retains them. When trust is established, it can even buffer the impact of occasional missteps, helping brands maintain long-term relationships.
  • European banking brands face a persistent challenge: a wide perception gap between customers and noncustomers. In 2025, 18 banking brands scored more than twice as high with customers as with noncustomers on total experience, highlighting a disconnect between brand promise and broader market perception. For example, Le Crédit Lyonnais (LCL) in France showed a staggering 36.4-point gap. This disparity makes it difficult for banks to attract new customers, as noncustomers often don’t buy into the brand promise. Forrester’s BX Index™ reveals that while customers tend to view banks more favorably — thanks to direct experience — noncustomers remain skeptical, especially in markets like France and the Netherlands where BX gaps are widest. In the Netherlands and Sweden, only 6% of noncustomers consider any bank top-of-mind when seeking a new provider. However, there’s a silver lining. Brand perceptions often improve once individuals become customers, underscoring the importance of delivering on brand promises early and consistently to drive acquisition and retention.
  • Customer experience is improving, but remains only “OK” on average. Forrester’s CX Index measures how well a brand’s customer experience strengthens the loyalty of its customers. In European banking, we’re seeing modest improvements. Four countries — France, Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden — saw average gains of roughly two points, Italy saw a smaller increase of 0.5 points, and CX scores remained flat in three countries – Germany, Poland, and the UK. Despite these incremental gains, the overall picture remains lackluster. On average, only British and Polish banks deliver “good” CX, while most other countries hover at an “OK” level. Notably, Swedish banks are falling behind, offering “poor” CX. Banks are making progress on ease and effectiveness, but emotion — the most powerful driver of customer loyalty — remains the weakest link. Many banks struggle to evoke positive feelings such as confidence, respect, or contentment. In markets like Sweden and Germany, several brands are in an “emotional deficit,” generating more negative than positive emotions.

European Banks Must Raise The Bar

The good news? The roadmap is clear. Improving both brand experience and customer experience starts with focusing on what matters most to customers — and ensuring that banks not only make compelling promises but consistently deliver on them.

For a deeper dive into the European Banking Total Experience results — including each brand’s Total Experience, BX, and CX scores; the drivers of BX and CX; the key components of brand experience; and the emotions that drive loyalty the most — check out our country-specific reports or connect with us through a guidance session.

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