Net promoter scores have tumbled across the banking sector over the last year, as higher rates and bruised confidence translate into less advocacy and greater aggravation on the part of bank customers.

Data from Roy Morgan Research suggests a strong correlation with multi=product relationships, at least when it comes to net promoter scores among business customers.

“Banks can still achieve positive NPS despite an unfavourable macro environment” Michele Levine CEO of Roy Morgan said.

“For example, Roy Morgan Small Business Research shows that NPS is higher among small business owners who have both a business banking and consumer banking relationship with their bank compared to those who only have a business banking relationship. 

“This suggests that the deeper banking relationship created by caring for both the customers’ business and consumer banking needs contributes to better outcomes for the customer and enhances the prospect of positive NPS.”

Absent the pairing of a consumer relationship with a business banking relationship, business customers of banks tend to hold more negative opinions toward their business bank.

There is a great divergence in NPS scores among banks, taking NPS scores calculated as of June 2024, and averaged from surveys conducted across the year.

The Roy Morgan findings are grim in the case of Westpac.

Westpac’s business net promoter score the research firm put at minus 22.

For the other three big banks, their business NPS are in the range of minus 6.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank and ING scored highly, with an NPS among business clients of plus 9.0 and plus 9.6 respectively.