Frost Bank, Zions Bank and Synovus Financial took top honors in the 2015 Greenwich Excellence Awards in Small Business Banking.

Frost Bank led all U.S. competitors with 18 national and regional Greenwich Excellence Awards, followed by Zions Bank with 17 and Synovus Financial with 16.

Greenwich Excellence Awards recognize banks that deliver exceptional service quality to small businesses. Awards are given in 14 national banking and cash management categories, and in 20 regional categories. This year Greenwich Associates evaluated more than 600 banks, and 34  were recognized for distinctive quality.

The study results produced several important findings, including: Bank customer satisfaction and loyalty ratings declined in 2015.

This is an especially notable development, given that satisfaction and loyalty measures had been improving steadily since bottoming out in the wake of the global financial crisis.

The list of 2015 Excellence Award winners was dominated by regional and small banks. The relatively weaker performance of large and national banks can be attributed at least in part to cost pressures and regulatory compliance demands. But that situation is likely to change.

The country’s biggest banks are making huge investments in digital technology with a positive impact on the client experience in retail banking. These improvements are now beginning to carry over into small business banking.

“It’s imperative that banks large and small move rapidly to use digital technology and all other tools to improve the customer experience for small business clients.  These business executives are increasingly captivated by non-bank providers that use sophisticated technology platforms to provide fast, high-quality service and are easy to do business with,” says Greenwich Associates consultant Don Raftery.