Bank Sentiment down at years end
(10 December 2008 – Australia) As a turbulent year in the banking industry comes to an end, businesses have reported falling sentiment towards their banks.
Sentiment levels dropped to 41.5 (out of a possible 100) from last month in the final edition for 2008 of East & Partners’ Business Banking Sentiment Index (BBSI).
The BBSI is a comprehensive monthly look at the feelings of empathy, loyalty, satisfaction and advocacy of over 750 businesses with turnover of $1m to $100m per annum, towards their main bank.
East & Partners’ financial markets analyst, Peter Drennan, said "From completed and impending mergers to the ongoing financial crisis, the banks have had a lot to deal with over the past year".
"As a result, business sentiment has significantly fallen towards the end of this year as banks have tried to address these unprecedented issues to the dissatisfaction of business customers", Mr Drennan added.
The year saw Bank of Queensland become the bank with the highest sentiment rating, with a final score for the year of 61.7. The standout performer for the year was Citibank, increasing by 20.5 percent on its 2007 figure to reach 32.9.
The BBSI is a comprehensive monthly look at the feelings of empathy, loyalty, satisfaction and advocacy of over 750 businesses with turnover of $1m to $100m per annum, towards their main bank.
East & Partners’ financial markets analyst, Peter Drennan, said "From completed and impending mergers to the ongoing financial crisis, the banks have had a lot to deal with over the past year".
"As a result, business sentiment has significantly fallen towards the end of this year as banks have tried to address these unprecedented issues to the dissatisfaction of business customers", Mr Drennan added.
The year saw Bank of Queensland become the bank with the highest sentiment rating, with a final score for the year of 61.7. The standout performer for the year was Citibank, increasing by 20.5 percent on its 2007 figure to reach 32.9.