Non-major banks among most trusted brands in Australia

The results of Roy Morgan’s latest Net Trust Score survey of more than 4,000 Australians reinforce earlier findings from the market research firm, which have shown that customer satisfaction was highest for non-major banks in the six months ended 31 March 2018. The Banking Channel Usage and Satisfaction Reports found that Bendigo Bank (87.5 per cent), ING (87.1 per cent), St. George (84.6 per cent), Bankwest (84.6 per cent) and Bank of Queensland (83.1 per cent) ranked in the top five, while all of the majors ranked in the bottom half of the list, along with Suncorp.

In the most recent survey, Bendigo Bank was among the most trusted brands across Australia, losing out only to supermarket chain ALDI and insurer NRMA, which occupied the first and second spots, respectively.

Also ranking in the 10 most trusted brands in Australia, according to the Net Trust Score survey, was Qantas (no. 4), Bunnings (no. 5), Kmart (no. 6), ABC Network (no. 7), IGA (no. 8) and Australia Post (no. 9).

ING rounded off the list as the 10th most trusted brand in Australia.

According to Roy Morgan, important drivers of consumer trust are “reliability, customer focus, knowledgeable staff, ease of contact and previous good experiences with the company”, while drivers of distrust centre around “perceptions of self-centredness, greed, and dishonest and deceitful business practices”.

Since the commencement of the banking royal commission, numerous studies have pointed to declining trust in the major banks. A recent survey of 1,000 Australian consumers by Essential Media revealed that nearly half of respondents, or 47 per cent, have less trust in the major banks, while 14 per cent expressed greater trust in the big four.

The CEO of the Customer Owned Banking Association, Michael Lawrence, last month said that reduced consumer trust in the major banks is no surprise given the revelations aired during the banking royal commission hearings.

“Australians want a banking institution they can trust to put them first. Our model is solely customer-focused because 100 per cent of profits are used to benefit customers,” Mr Lawrence said at the time.

Further, Momentum Intelligence’s Third-Party Banking Report: Non-Major Lenders 2017, run in partnership with The Adviser, showed that brokers rated the non-major banks more highly than the majors across a range of categories, including BDM and credit assessment staff, client support and turnaround times.

What do you think of the non-major banks?

The Adviser’s annual Third-Party Lending Report: Non-Major Banks survey 2018 has now opened, looking specifically at product offering, technology, broker support and commission.

This is your chance to tell us what the non-major banks are doing well and where they should improve their broker proposition, if they are to win more of your business.

The survey will only take around 10–15 minutes to complete.

Have your say now by completing the Third-Party Lending Report: Non-Major Banks survey online.

[Related: Have your say on the non-major banks]