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Pricing causes record drop in satisfaction

Business satisfaction with banks falls below mid-point average for first time, as operators become increasingly dissatisfied with credit providers

Business satisfaction with
banks has fallen below the mid-point average to 4.96 for the first time, as operators become increasingly dissatisfied with their credit providers.

East and Partners‘ latest Business Banking Customer Satisfaction Monitor (BBCSM) reveals that the average business customer satisfaction rating ranked poorly on a scale of 0-10.

April statistics show that the overall rating for all the banks fell for the first time since the BBCSM began.

Of the ‘big four’, Commonwealth Bank took the biggest hit, while NAB and St George decreased by the smallest amounts.

East & Partners’ head of market analysis, Robert Morgan, says pricing is the key factor behind declining numbers.

“Overall satisfaction is clearly being weighed down by pricing which, of all the factors covered in the BBCSM, encountered the biggest drop in satisfaction over the past month,” he says.

“We continue to see tremendous opportunities for Australian banks, in particular the ‘big four’, as a result of the reduced competitive landscape in Australia.

“However, the subject of pricing continues to be an emotive subject for business customers and one which the banks need to carefully consider especially in the context of long-term relationships.”

Top-rating institutions were the regional banks, with a satisfaction score of 6.65.

At the same time, NAB is continuing to close the gap, and looks likely to assume the top spot in the coming months.

The survey is based on interviews conducted Australia-wide each month, with a structured sample of 850 companies turning over $5-500 million per year.

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