One in five Aussies aren't satisfied with their bank

The banking Royal Commission may have made an impact on what Australians think of their banks, with bank satisfaction levels declining by 4% over the first half of 2018.

According to the Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction-Consumer Banking in Australia June Report, bank customer satisfaction dropped from 82.3% in January 2018 (prior to the Royal Commission), to 78.5% in May, before sliding even further to 78.3% in June – the lowest monthly satisfaction level since April 2012.

The report also found that 15.5% of bank customers are indifferent to their bank, while 6.2% are dissatisfied. This total of 21.7% of bank customers who are not satisfied with their bank was found to have increased from 17.7% in January 2018.

While the current level of bank satisfaction was found to be at its lowest level since April 2012, satisfaction levels are still well above the record low of 60% in January 2001, and above the long-term average of 73.8% since 2001.

Which banks had the most satisfied customers?

Out of Australia’s ten largest banks by customer numbers, ING had the highest level of customer satisfaction, increasing by 0.5% points over the past 12 months to 88.6%. Other leading banks whose customer satisfaction improved included Bankwest (up 2.5% points to 83.8%) and St.George (up 1.2% points to 83.3%).

Other leading banks all saw declines in their level of customer satisfaction, ranging from falls of -0.2% points (Bank of Queensland, with 83.5% satisfaction) to falls of -3% (Suncorp Bank, with 80.1% satisfaction).

Out of the big four banks, Westpac experienced the smallest fall in satisfaction (-1.5% points to 76.4%), while CBA, NAB and ANZ all experienced falls in customer satisfaction of -2.7%.

Who are the least happy bank customers?

Roy Morgan industry communications director, Norman Morris, said that mortgage holders are the least satisfied bank customers, with their satisfaction levels generally coming in lower than those of non-mortgage holders:

“Declining satisfaction among home loan customers is a major contributor to the overall decline in customer satisfaction and is likely to be as a result of either increased rates or talk of rates being increased. This is likely to be having a negative impact in an environment where there hasn’t been any increase in the official cash rate by the Reserve Bank for a considerable time.”

Source: Roy Morgan

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