Henry Noye Discusses Banks’ Use of Reddit for Market Insights in American Banker

Henry Noye, a partner, and member of Obermayer’s Catastrophic Loss Group was featured in American Banker on November 4, 2024, discussing banks’ potential use of Reddit for market insights. The article, titled “‘Like qualitative research without having to pay’: A Bank’s Guide to Reddit,” highlights Reddit’s vast network of digital communities, or subreddits, where anonymous users gather to discuss everything from politics to personal finance.

Reddit hosts thousands of digital communities, known as subreddits, where users anonymously discuss topics from politics to recipes. Among the many subreddits, some focus on financial services—an area many believe is underutilized by banks. For example, the “Personal Finance” subreddit ranks as the 37th largest with 20 million members, while r/CreditCards has 1.4 million members, making it a top 1% subreddit. Subreddits dedicated to major financial apps and megabanks serve as hubs for discussing transaction issues, account closures, and financial products. By monitoring these conversations, banks could gain insights into customer preferences, spot trends in complaints, and develop consumer-friendly content on complex financial topics. However, participating directly on Reddit poses risks, as overtly representing a bank can disrupt Reddit’s community-driven environment.

“I wouldn’t advise a bank client to say ‘we got this information from Reddit,'” said Henry, but he does not see any barriers for banks in using Reddit as a component of market research.

Read the full article here.