Satisfaction with banks down marginally in February – Roy Morgan

From Roy Morgan Research.

New results from Roy Morgan show that customer satisfaction with banks in the six months to February 2018 was 81.0%, down marginally from 81.2% in January. This level still represents a positive result when seen in the context of the long term monthly average of 73.8% calculated since 2001.

ING, St George and Westpac show improved satisfaction

Of the ten largest consumer banks, ING showed the biggest improvement in satisfaction over the last month, up 1.1% points to 86.3%, followed by St George up 0.6% points (to 83.9%) and Westpac up 0.2% points (to 78.1%). The remainder of the big four showed only marginal declines, with CBA down 0.1% points (to 80.0%), NAB down 0.2% points (to 78.9%) and ANZ down 0.2% points (to 78.4%). Each of the big four remain below the overall bank satisfaction level of 81.0%.

Consumer Banking Satisfaction – 10 Largest Consumer Banks1


Source: Roy Morgan Single Source (Australia). 6 months to January 2018. n= 23,945; 6 months to February 2018, n = 23,887. Base: Australians 14+. 1. Based on customer numbers. 2. Includes banks not shown. 

Bendigo Bank retained the highest satisfaction rating among the ten largest banks with 87.8%, followed by ING (86.3%), St George (83.9%), Bankwest (83.7%) and Bank of Queensland (83.6%).

Satisfaction with mobile banking is well ahead of branches

The rapid increase in the use of mobile banking, with its higher satisfaction levels compared to branches, appears to have the potential to positively impact overall bank satisfaction. All four of the major bank’s customers have higher satisfaction with their mobile banking compared to those using branches. Internet banking users also have higher satisfaction than those using branches but on average remain a little below that of mobile bankers. The fact that around two thirds (65.3%) of the population now use either mobile banking or internet banking in an average four week period (and showing an upward trend) is a positive for bank satisfaction as these channels have satisfaction ratings of up to 92% compared to around 86% for branches.

Satisfaction with Banking Channel Used in the Last 4 Weeks

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source (Australia). Six months ended February 2018, n = 23,887. Base: Australians 14+.1. Using an App on a mobile phone or tablet. 2. Using an institutions website. 3. Includes Banks not shown, Building Societies and Credit Unions

 The CBA has the highest satisfaction of the four majors for mobile banking with 92.9% and for internet banking (91.1%) and is a close second for branch banking with 86.0%. NAB with 90.8% and Westpac with 91.0% have their highest satisfaction ratings for mobile banking, while the ANZ scored their highest satisfaction with 89.2% for internet banking.

These latest results are from Roy Morgan’s Single Source survey of over 50,000 consumers per annum.

Broker or Banker – Which is Best?

Well, according to new research from Roy Morgan, home loan customer satisfaction with banks when using a mortgage broker was only 77.3%. This compares to 80.3% when home loans were obtained in person at a branch. So Banker is best….

Even among more recent home loans (held for under six years) satisfaction with going directly into branch was 81.7% compared to 78.7% for mortgage brokers. This is an important finding because it illustrates the potential impact that a third party can have on the satisfaction level of customers with their banks.

These results cover the six months to January 2018 and are from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey of over 50,000 consumers per annum, including over 12,000 mortgage holders.

Nearly all of the largest banks home loan customers have higher satisfaction with their bank when they obtained their loan in person at a branch, rather than through a mortgage broker. Home loan customers of Bendigo Bank who obtained their loan in person at a branch had the highest satisfaction with 92.6%, followed by Bankwest (87.3%) and St George (86.8%). The best of the big four was NAB with 82.4%, followed by ANZ (79.7%). All of the largest banks, with the exception of Westpac, had higher satisfaction when going direct rather than using mortgage brokers.

Home Loan Consumer Satisfaction: Obtained through Branch vs Mortgage Broker2 – Largest Home Loan Banks1

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source (Australia). 6 months to January 2018, n= 6,052 Base: Australians 14+ with home loan. 1. Based on largest number of home loans purchased at a branch. 2. Excludes other methods of obtaining home loans. 3. Includes brands not shown.

Satisfaction when using mortgage brokers was highest for St George with 85.6%, Bankwest (82.1%) and Suncorp Bank (82.0%). Each of the big four were below the market average (77.3%) for home loan customer satisfaction when using a mortgage broker, with the best of them being NAB (76.4%) and Westpac (75.7%).

Home loan customers go in person to branch

Despite many channels available to obtain home loans, over half (52.4%) of all current loans were sourced from going in person to a bank branch. This is well ahead of the 34.3% who purchased their loan through a mortgage broker. With these two channels accounting for 86.7% of the current market, it is important for banks to know how they perform in each in terms of customer satisfaction.

Method Used To Obtain Home Loan

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source (Australia). 6 months to January 2018, n= 6,052. Base: Australians 14+ with home loan
Other channels used to obtain home loans were, ‘in person with a mobile bank representative’ (8.7%, satisfaction 78.9%) and ‘over the phone’ (4.0%, satisfaction 80.3%).

Mortgage Customer Satisfaction – Go Small!

The latest data shows that customers of the smaller mortgage lenders are significantly more likely to be satisfied than those using the big four.  And overall the smaller players are hitting the high note in terms of service compared with their larger competitors, with mortgages leading the way.

According to Roy Morgan Research, customer satisfaction with Bendigo Bank in August 2017 was 89.3%, making it the top performer among the ten largest consumer banks. Not only was Bendigo the satisfaction leader but it improved it’s rating over the month by 0.9% points, against an overall decline of 0.2% points for banks in total.

Smaller banks lead in customer satisfaction

Not only does Bendigo Bank lead in customer satisfaction among the major ten banks with 89.3% but it was followed by other small banks such as ING Direct with 86.7%, Bank of Queensland (84.2%), Suncorp (83.0%) and St George (82.0%). The best performer among the four majors was the CBA with 80.2%, followed by Westpac on 78.5%, NAB (78.4%) and ANZ (77.3%). The overall average satisfaction for all banks was 80.8% in August.

Consumer Banking Satisfaction August 2017 - 10 Largest Consumer Banks1 
1. Based on customer numbers 2. Include banks not shown Source: Roy Morgan Single Source (Australia). 6 months ended July 2017, n= 26,184; 6 months ended August 2017, n= 26,119. Base: Australians 14+
 

Over the last month the major banks to show improved satisfaction were Bendigo Bank (up 0.9% points), Bank of Queensland (up 0.7% points), Suncorp (up 0.5% points), Westpac (up 0.4% points) and NAB (up 0.1% point). The biggest drop in satisfaction was by ING Direct (down 1.2% points) but they remained in clear second place overall.

Low satisfaction among mortgage customers of the big four banks reduce their overall satisfaction

The mortgage customers of each of the big four banks continue to be a drag on their overall satisfaction, despite historically low home-loan rates. Over the last month, satisfaction among the big four’s home-loan customers has fallen marginally further behind their other customers with a decline of 0.4% points to 75.7%, compared to a drop of only 0.1% points for non home-loan customers (to 79.8%).

Satisfaction of Mortgage and Non-Mortgage Customers August 2017 - 10 Largest Consumer Banks1
1. Based on customer numbers Source: Roy Morgan Single Source (Australia). 6 months ended July 2017, n= 26,184; 6 months ended August 2017, n= 26,119. Base: Australians 14+

Bendigo Bank has the highest home-loan customer satisfaction (of the top 10) with 96.3%, followed by Bank of Queensland with 93.6%. These two remain well ahead of their major competitors, with the next best being ING Direct (86.8%). The CBA has the highest home-loan customer satisfaction of the big four with 77.4% (down 0.7% points over the last month), followed by NAB on 75.4% (up 1.6% points).

Mortgage Customer Satisfaction A Drag

Data from Roy Morgan shows mortgage related satisfaction has fallen, whilst banking using an app on a mobile phone or tablet is now more popular than using branches, with 38.8% of Australians using it in an average four-week period, compared with only 28.2% for branches. Satisfaction is a major driver of this trend with 90.7% satisfaction with mobile banking among the big four, compared to 84.8% satisfaction with branches.

CBA leads in satisfaction with mobile banking

With a 93.8% satisfaction rate among its mobile banking customers, the CBA has the highest satisfaction of the 10 major banks and has improved by 2.2% points over the last 12 months. Bendigo Bank is a close second with 93.4%, followed by ING Direct on 92.7%. The remainder of the big four banks were well below this top group with ANZ on 88.4%, NAB on 88.0% and Westpac on 87.7%.

Satisfaction1 with mobile banking2 vs branch banking – 10 Largest Consumer Banks3

mobile-vs-branch-banking-sat-chart

1. Based on used in the last 4 weeks 2. Using an App on a mobile phone or tablet 3. Based on customer numbers. Source: Roy Morgan Research Single Source (Australia). 6 months ended November 2015, n= 25,410; 6 months ended November 2016, n=24,727
 

Satisfaction with branch banking is highest for Bendigo Bank (94%), followed by Bankwest on 90.8% and St George (89.5%). The lowest were Westpac (82.8%) and NAB (85.0%). CBA branch satisfaction is at 85.7%, a long way behind that of its mobile users (93.8%) a gap that has widened over the last 12 months.

Mortgage customers of the big four remain a drag on satisfaction

The mortgage customers of each of the big four banks continue to be a drag on their overall satisfaction, despite historically low home-loan rates. Over the last 12 months, satisfaction among the big four’s home-loan customers has fallen further behind their other customers with a decline by 2.8% points to 75.4%, compared to a drop of only 0.4% points for non-home-loan customers (to 80.5%).

Satisfaction of Mortgage and Non-Mortgage Customers – 10 Largest Consumer Banks1

mortgage-vs-non-mortgage-sat-chart

1. Based on customer numbers. Source: Roy Morgan Research Single Source (Australia. 6 months ended November 2015, n= 25,410; 6 months ended November 2016, n=24,727)
 

ING Direct has the highest home-loan customer satisfaction (of the top 10) with 94.8%, followed closely by 94.5% for Bendigo Bank. These two remain well clear of the field, with the next best being St George (83.6%) and Bankwest (83.3%). The CBA has the highest home-loan customer satisfaction of the big four with 78.0% and Westpac the lowest (72.6%).

The CBA and NAB the big four improvers in November

The CBA was most improved among the big four for the month of November (up 0.3% points to 82.0%), maintaining its top position. The NAB also improved satisfaction marginally (up 0.1% point to 78.8%) but ANZ (down 0.6% points to 77.5%) and Westpac (down 0.1% points to 76.7%) both declined.

Consumer Banking Satisfaction

consumer-banking-sat-chart-trended

Source: Roy Morgan Consumer Banking Satisfaction Report, November 2016, average6-month sample n=25,015.
 

While the big four maintain a close eye on who is the satisfaction leader among them, the mutual banks remain well ahead of all four. The average satisfaction level for the big four in November was 79.5%, compared to the Mutual Bank’s average of 90.1%. The best performers among the mutual banks were Greater Bank (94.5%), Bank Australia (93.9%) and Teachers Mutual Bank (92.3%), all well ahead of the top ranked big four, the CBA on 82.0%

These are the latest findings from Roy Morgan’s Single Source survey of 50,000+ people pa.