There are a lot of millennials--so banks need to market to them.

• Position: MARKETING NEWS - Brief article

BANKS NEED TO ACQUIRE AND NURTURE THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH MILLENNIALS, according to a recent survey by the Fair Isaac Corp. (FICO), the customer analytics company.

Millennials, for one thing, now comprise the largest population segment ever in U.S. history and that segment is growing as a percentage of the overall population.

(In 2011, there were 76 million baby boomers, but 79 million millennials.)

FICO identified key banking characteristics of millen-including the following:

* Millennials prefer having their primary account at a national bank (68 percent). Only 15 percent use a credit union and only 9 percent use a regional bank.

* While email and direct mail are still the highest areas of preference for millennials to get their marketing information, social media, TV ads and word-of-month recommendations are often two or three times higher as preferences then other generational groups.

* Millennials are significantly more likely...