Regions and credit unions deliver the best customer experience in the banking industry, according to the 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings, an annual ranking of companies based on a study of 10,000 U.S. consumers.

The leading banks in the study earned an 81% rating—only narrowly overtaking USAA and TD Bank—and tied for 8^thplace overall out of 268 companies across 19 industries. Credit unions scored the highest rating in both 2012 and 2013, while Regions earned the top spot in 2011. At the other end of the spectrum, HSBC received the lowest rating for any of the 16 banks for the second year in a row, landing in 226^th place overall with a 56% rating. Fifth Third also tumbled down the rankings from its "good" rating in 2013 to have the second lowest score in the banking industry.

"The banking industry as a whole is becoming more focused on delivering good customer experience. Kudos to Regions and to all of the credit unions that are focusing on meeting their customers' needs," states Bruce Temkin, managing partner of Temkin Group.

Here are some additional findings from the banking industry:

• The ratings of all banks in the 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings are as follows: Credit unions (81%), Regions(81%), USAA (80%), TD Bank (80%), ING Direct (74%), SunTrust Bank (74%), US Bank (73%), PNC (71%),Chase (71%), Wells Fargo (71%), Citizens (67%), Capital One (66%), Citibank (64%), Bank of America (63%),Fifth Third (60%), and HSBC (56%).
• Regions (+12 points), TD Bank (+6 points), Wells Fargo (+6 points), and Chase (+5 points) improved their ratings the most between 2013 and 2014.
• Fifth Third (-10 points), Citibank (-2 points), and HSBC (-1 point) were the only banks whose ratings declined between 2013 and 2014.
• Overall, the banking industry averaged a 71% rating in the 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings and placed 5^th out of 19 industries. Banking is also one of the 15 industries to improve its rating over the past year, increasing its average by 2.4 percentage points.