Selling KiwiBank no good for customers or banking sector

Finsec commented on the National Party’s plan to sell KiwiBank revealed by Bill English saying it would be bad news for customers and the country’s banking sector.

“KiwiBank is setting a good example by keeping jobs local, focusing on customers’ needs and service not sales targets and goes some way to offset the negative balance of payments problem created by the big Australian banks sending their profits offshore,” said Campaigns Director Andrew Campbell.

“Community concern has grown about the way Australian banks behave in New Zealand. ANZ National is moving hundreds of good local jobs offshore to India in the face of widespread public opposition and more bank profit is being returned to offshore shareholders. This has a negative impact on our balance of payments – a situation made worse if KiwiBank was sold to foreign investors,” said Campbell.

Satisfaction survey shows customers want ‘community’ banks

The Roy Morgan survey of bank customer satisfaction has just been released and shows that a connection to the local community as well as competitive products and good service is the key to growth in customer numbers.“The survey shows that banks need to perform across a range areas to grow customer numbers. Significantly the results indicate that mortgage pricing, and improvements in customer satisfaction need to be teamed with a commitment to local communities to achieve the best result for the banks,” said Andrew Campbell, Finsec Campaigns Director.

“There is a growing groundswell of public consciousness that banks have an important role to play in their local communities. Those banks that customers perceive to be active and responsible participants in their local communities are receiving higher customer service rankings.”

“Kiwibank and TSB, with their perceived strong local ethos and commitment to small communities, are consistently outperforming banks that are seen as large corporates interested mostly in sending profits offshore.”

“Banks need to be more involved in New Zealand’s small local communities if they want to improve their customer service ratings. Customers value banks that they perceive as supporting their local communities, not just sponsoring large events and stadiums.”

Of course, the positive perception that people have about Kiwibank and TSB may not be entirely earned. TSB for instance continues to pay some of the lowest wages in the banking sector. To maintain their goodwill within their communities TSB and Kiwibank, like all banks, will need to support their marketing with a serious commitment to improved customer service through strong retail networks, more time and less pressure to sell.

(thanks to zombie_eater for the photo)