Banks see first marginal improvement in customer satisfaction
It seems the scars of the Banking Royal Commission may have already faded a little, with bank customer satisfaction seeing its first marginal improvement since the debacle began in January last year, according to Roy Morgan’s latest survey.
The survey recorded customer satisfaction was at 78.1 per cent in November, up from 78 per cent in October, and while it’s a decline of 3.1 percentage points from January 2018, it’s the first positive move since the Royal Commission began.
Satisfaction also remains above the long-term average of 74.3 per cent, and well up on the 58.7 per cent recorded in January 2001.
Despite dissatisfaction with banks remaining low, indifference seems to be a growing problem, with only 5.6 per cent of customers dissatisfied with their banks compared to 16.3 per cent who are indifferent to their relationship with their bank.
The figures show that the combination of both dissatisfied and indifferent customers means that around one in five (21.9 per cent) customers pose a potential threat to customer retention.
Consistent top performers during the Royal Commission, ING and Bendigo Bank, have again seen an increase in customer satisfaction with 88.8 per cent and 88.5 per cent respectively, up 3.6 percentage points and 0.1 percentage points respectively on January last year.
Contrastingly, Westpac took the biggest hit, dropping 5.5 percentage points, followed by NAB and Bankwest, which both dropped 4.5 percentage points.
ANZ followed closely with a drop of 4.3 percentage points, but Commonwealth Bank of Australia remained top of the big four with 76.7 per cent.
Norman Morris, Roy Morgan’s industry communications director, said the scheduled release of the Banking Royal Commission report in February would be a major challenge for banks to maintain satisfaction levels.
Recommended for you
Insignia Financial has made four appointments, including three who have joined from TAL, to lead strategy and innovation in its retirement solutions for the MLC brand.
The third quarter of 2024 saw the first positive increase in adviser numbers for 12 months, according to the latest quarterly Musical Chairs report, with new entrants overwhelmingly choosing to join privately owned firms.
As more advisers review their fee structures, Business Health has shared six steps to calculating the price to deliver financial advice services in a profitable yet suitable way.
ASIC’s Sarah Court has confirmed the regulator is carrying out systematic work on providers of unlicensed advice but admits it is a case of “whack-a-mole” when it comes to disciplining them.