Bank Customer increasingly “unfaithful” – Swedish Dagbladet

Bank Customer increasingly "unfaithful" – Swedish Dagbladet

Despite a hot debate on benefits, contributions and the closure of state offices clients that they have become more satisfied with their bank. Unlike previous years, there are also positive changes among the major banks. Handelsbanken, Nordea, SEB and Swedbank strengthens its market position in relation to the smaller niche banks.

– We have seen quite a negative trend during the past few years, with major declines in customer satisfaction for several banks. But now the trend is broken, says Johan Parmler, CEO of the Swedish Quality Index (SQI).

Behind the recent the measurement of customer satisfaction, conducted by SKI, are responses from 11,600 bank customers . The interviews were conducted between August and September, thus largely before SvD Enterprise’s revelations about SEB’s stealth increase in customers’ mortgage rate, that bospararna in HSB lose hundreds of dollars in fees to Swedbank Robur and that Nordea Dark cost of CEO Christian Clausen’s bonus program.

The result shows that confidence in the banking sector has been strengthened especially among customers younger than 30 years, albeit from low levels. Most satisfied customers, Handelsbanken and Länsförsäkringar while Swedbank and Nordea continued on the bottom of the ranking.

The winners proves to live up to the standards of service and proximity while customers give them high marks in terms of responsibility. Losers notice on the other side of the public image of those responsible have been adversely affected by profits, bonuses, and the closure of offices.

– Swedbank and Nordea tries to meet many different customer groups at the same time and find it difficult to distinguish itself through to be the best at something. Simultaneously, the ones with writings in the media that weigh down their image, says David Sjoberg, an analyst at SKI.

Even niche banks, such as ICA Bank and Skandiabanken, who previously received high ratings drop Now in customer satisfaction.

– They have another store entrance to the banking sector as they have managed to capitalize on the good, but there seems to be a trigger point for when the synergies are not as strong anymore. They still perceived to be affordable but the width of the product range is not as good, says David Sjoberg.

As a whole recovers to the industry to some extent from the previous year’s decline in customer satisfaction, but at the same time increases not their loyalty to this bank – on the contrary. Almost every other Swedish is now a customer for two or more banks, compared with fewer than one in three Swedish a year ago.

– The trend is to acquire more banks. This creates a challenge for banks that often thinking from a helkundsperspektiv. Not all customers who are interested in having all services combined, and it will involve a balancing act that banks have to deal with, says Johan Parmler.

There is still make that change main bank, but the more people say they plan to switch banks in the next year. To customers rather acquire more banks than changing main bank indicates, according to SKI, the public still feels a threshold that swapped bank.

But John Parmler believe that the customer flow between banks will increase, not least because banks continues to be poor at handling complaints.

– handling of complaints is lamentable. Banks are even worse than the telecommunications industry when it comes to handling complaints. And we see that those who encounter poor complaint handling is much more inclined to switch banks or acquire a bank, says Johan Parmler.