One of Australia's largest mutuals, Newcastle Permanent, published its 2017-18 annual results overnight, showing off some of the best customer metrics in the retail banking industry and delivering strong financials - this year's A$43.8 million net profit after tax (as at 30 June) was up 12.4 per cent on the prior year, said CEO Terry Millett."Our profits are 100 per cent retained in the business to benefit our customers and community; this year we generated an estimated $102.2 million in customer value, calculated by combining our net profit after tax of $43.8 million and a $58.4 million mutuality dividend - a great outcome for our customers," Millett said."In the ever-evolving realm of retail banking, this year we've delivered a range of significant upgrades to processes, systems and services, making a tangible difference to our customers' experiences and our business more efficient so we can maintain our suite of highly awarded and industry-leading products."He has overseen a digital banking platform upgrade that will extend Newcastle Permanent's reach beyond its Hunter Valley home base. "This year our customer satisfaction was 93 per cent according to national research firm Roy Morgan, making us the number one ranked financial institution in Australia in June 2018," Millett said."Our net promoter score, which is used by many organisations as a strong measure of customer advocacy, indicates that our customers are happy to recommend Newcastle Permanent to their friends and colleagues. By comparison, customers of the major banks were quite reluctant to recommend their organisations to others," Millett said.The mutuality dividend is the amount independently estimated by Canstar to be the additional collective financial benefit customers receive by banking with Newcastle Permanent rather than the four major banks.