We have already discussed the importance of social media monitoring for the banking and finance industry and also looked at how to use Talkwalker for reputation management. Our example was one of the largest banks in Europe, the French bank BNP Paribas and the shift in its online reputation. Since BNP Paribas is not the only bank under investigation, others should be keeping a close eye on their online reputation as well. We have compiled a list of five banks that should make sure to monitor what is being said about them online.
1.) Société Générale
France-based Société Générale is dealing with accusations of money laundering as well as involvement in transactions similar to those of BNP Paribas. The bank also spent more than 120 million dollars recently to settle a lawsuit with federal housing authorities in the US over misleading mortgage institutions Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac about mortgage-backed securities.
For the period between end of June and end of July, during an ongoing discussion about the banking industry, the world map shows that Société Générale received a lot of buzz. In a lot of discussions about the BNP Paribas case, it was mentioned along with several other banks in France.
2.) Crédit Agricole:
A third French bank in the focus of US authorities, Crédit Agricole is battling accusations of money laundering and its involvement in the violation of the US sanctions against Iran and Cuba.
Looking at the results of the past three months, Crédit Agricole shows a sharp increase in buzz towards the end of May. Neutral and negative conversations have experienced several peaks, while the positive ones remain at a fairly constant low.
3.) Deutsche Bank:
Like BNP Paribas, US investigations are looking into Deutsche Bank’s dollar transactions with Iran, Syria and Sudan. Additionally, the bank was supposedly involved in the Libor fixing scandal and is still fighting the aftermath of this investigation. Search results for Deutsche Bank show that the discussion about the BNP Paribas investigations were not limited to a single bank. In many cases, several banks also under investigation were mentioned alongside each other.
4.) Citigroup:
The US bank just agreed to 7-billion-dollar fine for fraud related to mortgages. The bank bundled mortgages it knew did not meet quality standards into securities and sold them to investors while assuring buyers that they were high-quality items. The Citibank fine was discussed on news media as well as social networks. The overall sentiment in both cases shows a negative trend for Citigroup.
5.) Commerzbank
One of Germany’s biggest lenders, the Frankfurt-based bank could face a fine of several hundred million dollars, after coming to an agreement with US authorities in a case similar to that of BNP Paribas. A look at the tag cloud for Commerzbank shows that it was mentioned in combination with other banks many times. Especially the names of German competitors are present. However, the tag also includes the names of other banks under investigation, such as BNP Paribas or Société Générale.
Sentiment for the banks over time
The overall sentiment for the five banks mentioned shows strong increase for the neutral and negative sentiment. The positive sentiment shows little change for the past 30 days. All banks have prepared for possible lawsuits or settlements by putting millions – or in some cases, billions – of dollars aside. However, while they might be able to pay fines relatively easy, the potential damage to their reputation is severe. They should keep in mind that even if the monetary fine is a matter that can be resolved quickly, customer’s trust is something that takes a lot of time and effort to regain once it has been lost.
