Business banking customers more satisfied, but there's room to improve

Business banking satisfaction increased in December 2011 but there is more to be done to match the performance in consumer banking, according to a recent Roy Morgan Research report.

The results of the 'Business Satisfaction - Business Banking in Australia' revealed that St George scored the highest satisfaction level with a rating of 71.4 per cent, followed closely by Westpac which scored 67.6 per cent.

Overall, the report showed that the satisfaction levels of the banks' business clients had increased gradually from 61.4 per cent in November 2010 to 65.5 per cent in December 2011.

Three of the four major banks improved their satisfaction rating, the exception being Commonwealth Bank. 

The biggest gains were made by ANZ , which increased 7.5 percentage points to around 65.5 percent, while the National Australia Bank again returned the lowest satisfaction ranking, scoring 62.8 per cent.

According to the report, St George maintains a clear lead over its competitors for satisfaction across all product areas with the exception of loans. Meanwhile, the Commonwealth Bank's low ranking was attributed to low ratings across loans, cards and relationship manager performance.

Commenting on the results, Roy Morgan industry communications director Norman Morris said banks needed to do more to catch up with their performance in consumer banking.

"With the potential for profitable growth becoming much less amongst consumers, there is likely to be increased competition for growth in the business market, with the result that more focus will need to be on understanding the needs of business customers," Morris said.

"A major area of weakness seen by business customers across all banks is that they do not maintain regular contact with them and do not follow developments in their industry."