(28 May 2008 – Australia) St George has recorded the second consecutive drop in favourability among business customers according to East & Partners’ Business Banking Sentiment Index (BBSI).The BBSI is a monthly monitor of customer satisfaction, loyalty, advocacy and
empathy towards business banks.
St George, awarded the highest sentiment score of 60.6 points, saw its sentiment
fall for the second month in a row. Bank of Queensland, already ahead of St
George in loyalty and advocacy ratings, is now only 0.2 points behind St George
in its overall score (60.4).
“St George’s strong customer service focus has seen it dominate business
customer sentiment since the start of this Index in June 2006,” explained Peter
Drennan, East & Partners financial markets analyst.
“But its smaller competitors are consistently improving relationships with their
business banking customers and are now threatening St George’s number one spot,”
he continued.
Following five consecutive increases, East & Partners’ Business Banking
Sentiment Index for April 2008 reveals a steady sentiment rating among business
customers. Businesses have again rated their banks 42.4 points out of possible
100. However, while the market as a whole was steady, there was a mixed
performance across different banks.
Bank of Queensland and HSBC have experienced steady gains with further sentiment
score increases taking place in April. National Australia Bank performed best
among the Big Four banks and, together with Westpac and ANZ, saw its score
improve during the month of April. CBA however continued to slip and maintains
the lowest sentiment score in the market, at just 23.2 points.
About East & Partners’ Business Banking Sentiment Index
The East & Partners’ Business Banking Sentiment Index is a monthly survey of
business customer sentiment towards banks, providing a monitor of customer
satisfaction, loyalty, advocacy and empathy towards business banks. Each month
East & Partners’ research team conducts telephone interviews with a sample of
750 businesses nationally, turning over A$1 to 100 million per annum,
comprising:
| • | Micro Business | 201 | A$1 – 5 million turnover enterprises |
| • | SME | 287 | A$5 – 20 million turnover enterprises |
| • | Lower Commercial | 282 | A$20 – 100 million turnover enterprises |
For more information please contact:
Robert Morgan
Head of Market Analysis
East & Partners
t: 02-9004 7848
m: 0409 150 939
e: robert.m@eastandpartners.com