Retail customers happier than business
Business and retail bank customers have registered different responses in the latest customer satisfaction surveys. Retail customers are indicating some improved sentiment towards their financial institutions, as they continue to enjoy the benefit of low rates.
Businesses are feeling the burden of the re-rating of their credit facilities and tighter lending criteria, and they are taking it out on their bankers.
The divergence clearly demonstrates the importance of the cost of credit in shaping overall sentiment about the banking relationship.
The latest Nielsen quarterly retail customer survey shows that all five big banks scored an increase in customer satisfaction in the March quarter and two of them, St George and Commonwealth, were able to maintain the momentum in the June quarter.
Nielsen reports that overall satisfaction with the big five remained steady at 64 per cent.
Taking all banks into account, ING Direct and Bendigo Bank have the highest satisfaction scores - 76 and 75 per cent respectively. They are the only banks with positive net promoter scores (promoters, who give ratings of nine or 10, minus demoters, who give scores of one to six).
Promoters (also called advocates) are important because they are more likely to recommend their financial institution to family, friends and colleagues.
Nielsen reported that CBA, which has spent the past two years as the fifth ranked of the big five, has overtaken National Australia Bank and moved into fourth place.
CBA got off the bottom of the Roy Morgan Research consumer banking customer satisfaction survey almost a year ago and has challenged Westpac for its place in the pecking order this year.
The Morgan survey shows a mixed bag of results but overall there has been very little movement in recent months in what are quite high satisfaction scores. After hitting their peak late in 2007 scores came down in 2008 but have been stable this year.
The one exception is Adelaide Bank, whose score has fallen 17 percentage points in the past 12 months and, at 65.8 per cent, is below NAB's rating.
According to Nielsen, Adelaide Bank has one of the worst net promoter scores (only GE Money and Citibank are worse).
On the business customer side East & Partners has reported a decline in overall satisfaction every month since August last year. NAB leads the East & Partners survey with a score of 6.56 out of 10.
The TNS Business Banking Customer Satisfaction Monitor shows a similar trend. Over the six months to July all major banks lost ground, with the average for the four falling 3.6 percentage points to 71.2 per cent. ANZ leads with a score of 74.7 per cent.
The TNS report shows that the average for all financial institutions fell by 3.7 percentage points.
The East & Partners analysis of satisfaction factors shows that pricing continues to be the issue that causes most problems, along with applications and processes.