• by Todd Wasserman , December 5, 2022

If you think you’re seeing more financial brands advertising lately, you’re right, though that’s not across the board.

Capital One was the leader in ad spending for the category for 2021. According to Statista, the brand boosted its spending from $1.6 billion in 2020 to $2.87 billion in 2021.

In 2022, Capital One spent $1 billion on advertising per quarter, according to Washington Business Journal.  Other companies, including JPMorgan Chase, American Express and Citigroup also grew their ad spending, and Insider Intelligence predicted that the banking industry would increase its ad spend by 20.4% to $13.54 billion in 2022.

But not all financial brands boosted their spending in 2022. Allstate, Bank of America and Progressive are reported to have cut their spending in the first nine months of 2022.

Those brands may have good reasons for their decisions. A J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study released in August found that 57% of credit card customers are now “financially unhealthy” compared with 53% the year before.

The study also found that the monthly spending that consumers are putting on a primary credit card fell off compared with 2021.

But in a June announcement, Bank of America said that credit card spending rose 16% year-over-year and debit card spending rose 6%. "Consumers are in better shape to respond to a slowdown in the U.S. economy than they have been in many previous business cycles," said David Tinsley, senior economist for the Bank of America Institute.

JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon agreed, stating in the company’s Q2 earnings call that “Consumers are in good shape. They’re spending money. They have more income. Jobs are plentiful.”