Among banks in the western part of the United States, Bank of the West has the highest customer satisfaction, according to a survey by JD Power and Associates.  The survey went to nearly 20,000 retail banking customers to discern what retail bank out west offered the best customer experience.  “A highest ranking from J.D. Power and Associates is a wonderful tribute to the great people at the Bank of the West and their outstanding commitment to customer service. We have a long tradition of emphasizing service and our bankers believe that Bank of the West customers deserve to have the greatest retail banking customer service in the West,” said Michael Shepherd, President and CEO of Bank of the West.  Bank of the West earned a score of 772 to best its regional competitors.

The highest score in the study went to Wachovia in the Southwest United States.  BancorpSouth Bank ranks highest with a score of 782 in the Southeast and Commerce Bank won the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic Regions with scores of 750 and 781 respectively.

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Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) is the largest consumer bank in the country and it’s trying to further its mark on the home mortgage business, despite the recent tumult.  It is doing so by offering unprecedent deals from a lender of its size and quality.  Bank of America is currently offering no closing fees, no application fee, no private mortgage insurance fee.  Their site is easy to use and allows for prequalification in 10 minutes or less.  Their site does a great job outlining the closing costs that you can save by completing your loan with Bank of America, saving you up to $6,000.00.  Best of all, the company is offering a “Best Value” guarantee whereby if you choose to go with another lended, they will send you a check for $250, which should cover the time you spent applying with Bank of America, and then some.

Taking a look at current money market accounts, it seems as if EverBank is offering the highest interest rate with 4%, but this is where people get tripped up.  EverBank’s offer is 4% on its MMAs for the introductory period, but then only 2% on accounts below $10,000 after that.  Looking for the best money market rates it seems as if the IndyMac at 3.85% is the best for accounts over $10,000, with Corus Bank offering a 3.82% rate for the $10,000 deposit as well.  There is a savings account available at OneUnited Bank for 3.6% with a minimum deposit of $1,000 and the HSBC that we discussed yesterday that is 3.5% with no minimum.

For the week of June 15, 2008 we are seeing HSBC (NYSE: HBC), FNBO Direct offer the strongest savings account offers out there.  Because of its credibility and backing, HSBC may be the choice for many of you.  Both HSBC and FNBO Direct are offering 3.5% APY.  Capital One (NYSE: COF) is also offering 3.5% interest rate for a standard savings account, but you need to invest a minimum of $10,000.

As a reminder some of the reasons you may want to put money into savings accounts include: most institutions are insured against the loss of your money (only tiniest of risk); you earn a rate of return on your money; easy to manage and understand; easy to set-up.

The tightening in the credit markets has not stayed away from the student loan market. One way you can avoid traditional lenders as a prospective borrower is to give peer-to-peer lending a shot. Two main sites have tried to take advantage of the troubles at traditional student loan lender: Prosper and Virgin Money. These sites help facilitate peer-to-peer lending among friends and family, or with the general public. According to Virgin Money, the typical negotiated rate is around 4-5%, which is pretty darn good and much lower than you may pay at some private lenders, without a lot of the hassle. Prosper advertises loans as low as 7.68% on its homepage. If you’re feeling a little adventurous, in a bind, or just want to stick it to Sallie Mae (NYSE: SLM), you may want to considering giving these sites a shot.