Local relationship bank, Handelsbanken, has once again retained its top-ranking position in four of the five categories identified by the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) independent service quality survey for business banking.
The Bank, which has placed a predominant focus on supporting its local customers through the ongoing crisis, has today been named best for overall service quality (79%); relationship / account management (86%); SME overdraft and loan services (78%); and services in branches and business centres (73%)1 for the fifth time by the survey.
Commenting on the results, Mikael Sorensen, UK CEO, says: “We are grateful for the long-term, personal relationships we form locally with each of our customers, which have enabled us to meet their individual needs and requirements at this difficult time.
“We are particularly pleased to see this response coming from our SME customers, many of whom we have been working closely with to provide a range of tailored, flexible support.
“As this crisis has unfolded, our customers have appreciated the continued ability to contact their branch team directly. Having access to a local decision maker and a financially strong bank has provided customers with much needed reassurance, as well as practical support.
“We value the high level of trust that our customers place in us and it is always our main priority to deliver the best customer service we can. We are pleased and humbled to see this reflected in these CMA results during what continues to be a very challenging and uncertain time for many businesses and households.”
The CMA’s ongoing independent service quality survey, most recently conducted from July 2019 to June 2020, is intended to help customers compare the quality of service offered by Britain’s 14 largest business current account providers. The survey looks at customers’ willingness to recommend a financial provider to other businesses based on factors such as their overall service quality and their online, mobile, lending and branch services.
With over 200 Handelsbanken branches across the UK, Handelsbanken forms long-term, personal relationships with customers, through its distinct local relationship banking model. Customers have direct access to experienced branch teams who are empowered to make decisions locally, based on each customer’s specific needs and without product or sales targets.
This formula has also, for the eleventh year in a row, led to Handelsbanken being top-ranked for satisfaction, for both personal and business banking, in an independent survey of British bank customers by EPSI Rating3.
All banks participating in the CMA’s independent service quality survey will be required to display the latest results in their branches and on their websites from today onwards. The survey will be ongoing and the results will be updated every six months, in August and February.
The survey will interview approximately 1,200 customers per provider across Great Britain each year. Results will only be published where at least 100 customers have provided a score for a service in the survey period.
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For more information please contact:
Mariana Wall, Corporate Communications
020 7578 8198 / 07483 036936