Business client satisfaction with big four down over 2009

All four of the big banks saw a fall in satisfaction levels from their business banking clients in the second half of 2009, according to a business banking customer satisfaction report.

The TNS Communications Business Finance Monitor revealed that while 71.6 per cent of business banking customers were satisfied with the relationship they had with their main financial institution over the last six months of 2009 the big four banks saw a decrease in satisfaction, with a combined fall of 3.4 per cent to 68.1 per cent.

ANZ retained a slight lead on the big four with a satisfaction reading of 72.3 per cent, although it saw a decrease of 2.9 per cent compared to six months before. Westpac decreased by 3 per cent (to 69.7 per cent), NAB decreased by 3.3 per cent (to 65.9 per cent), and Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s (CBA's) customer satisfaction levels were down 4.9 per cent (to 65 per cent).

Looking at the 12 months to December 2009, the big four overall saw a decrease in satisfaction levels of 8.7 per cent to 69.7 per cent.

When it came to rankings, Bendigo Bank and Bank of Queensland continue to have the highest customer satisfaction levels of any of the banks, the report stated, with customer satisfaction levels remaining fairly steady throughout 2009. Bendigo Bank’s customer satisfaction increased by 1.1 per cent (to 91.9 per cent) while Bank of Queensland’s customer satisfaction levels decreased by 3.3 per cent (to 88.8 per cent).

St George on the other hand saw a considerable decrease over the year, down 14.9 per cent to 70.8 per cent and ranked third amongst the five major banks.

ANZ saw a decrease of 8.8 per cent over the year (to 73.7 per cent), Westpac was down 7.9 per cent (to 71.2 per cent, and the CBA and NAB saw levels at 67.5 per cent and 67.6 per cent respectively.