The big four banks have made strides in repairing authenticity post the Royal Commission, according to research from J.D. Power.
The ‘Banking Industry Insight’ report found the big four had improved scores relating to their history and continuity, perceived by customers as timeless and surviving trends.
However, customers of the big four banks were more likely than the average bank customer to perceive their bank as profit-driven rather than customer-driven.
Midsize banks were viewed as more authentic than the big four by customers and had improved compared with 2019.
Midsize banks had the most transparent fees structures: 29% of big four customers indicated they did not find their bank’s fee structure to be transparent, significantly more than for midsize bank customers (17%).
Customer-owned banks performed the best with Heritage Bank, People’s Choice Credit Union and CUA ranking in the top four in the Perceived Brand Authenticity (PBA) Index.
Commonwealth Bank had the highest PBA index rank among the big four with a score of 514.
Although brand authenticity for the big four banks was up 27 points from 2019, it still trailed the midsize banks, who also improved brand authenticity on year ago (an increase of 9 points).
Bronwyn Gill, head of banking and payments intelligence at J.D. Power Australia, said in the past year, Australians bank customers had faced the worst ever bushfire season and a global pandemic.
“Bank brand authenticity has been crucial, with customers looking for genuine support during their time of need,” Gill said.
“The big four banks have made progress repairing customer trust; however, a sustained customer-first culture will be needed to avoid losing customers to midsize banks who offer their customers a more authentic experience that corresponds with higher satisfaction.”
PBA Index ranks for midsize and the big four banks
Source: J.D. Power
