Big four improve satisfaction, small banks struggle

Smaller banks still lead the satisfaction ratings with Australian customers, but the Big Four are starting to close the gap, with satisfaction up from 79.5 per cent to 79.8 per cent in the six months to June 2017, according to research from Roy Morgan.

Of the big four, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s (CBA’s) satisfaction retained the lead at 81 per cent, ahead of National Australia Bank (NAB) at 79.8 per cent, ANZ at 78.8 per cent, and Westpac (77.6 per cent).

Teachers Mutual Bank held on as industry leader with a customer satisfaction level of 91.5 per cent, despite a 2.6 percentage point slide over the last year.

Commenting on the results, Roy Morgan industry communications director, Norman Morris said: “A major focus among the Big Four banks over more than a decade has been to improve their customer satisfaction and be ranked number one among their peers on this metric”.

“This strategy appears to be paying dividends as not only are the Big Four showing improvements in satisfaction but are closing the gap to the smaller banks who have been the pacesetters in satisfaction for a long time.”

Heritage Bank, Bendigo Bank, Beyond Bank Australia, and ING Direct rounded out the top five.