ST. LOUIS – Results from a recent survey conducted by pollster Maritz Inc. show the largest proportion of U.S. consumers believe that shareholders benefit most from bank mergers while bank employees benefit the least. When asked to rate how each of several groups were impacted by bank mergers, 65% of bank customers surveyed indicated they felt shareholders receive the most positive impact from the merger. Bank senior management ranked a distant second – 37%. Only 27% of respondents believe bank customers benefit from a merger, and 21% indicated they believe the general public benefits. Just 20% said that bank employees receive positive benefits from a bank merger. The survey results, said Eric Levy, director, financial services for Maritz Research, suggest that consumers perceive bank mergers as a financial tactic to increase shareholder value. The Maritz online poll was conducted April 7-12. Results were based on responses from 1,001 randomly selected adults in the U.S. who were questioned concerning their views of bank mergers and the economy.