BANKS' CUSTOMER SATISFACTION LEVELS Australian Consumers’ Association’s omission of comparative information which shows an increase in customer satisfaction levels could mislead consumers Sydney, 11 November, 2002: The Australian Bankers’ Association said the latest survey on bank satisfaction has good news for Australia’s banks because satisfaction levels appear to have risen, which is not the picture painted by the Australian Consumers’ Association (ACA), the publishers of ‘Choice’ magazine. The 2002 survey results appear[1] to show that on average, 72.75% of bank customers are satisfied with their institution. This would be an improvement of 2.75 percentage points compared to 2000 survey when average satisfaction levels of the major banks rated at 70%. David Bell, Chief Executive of the Australian Bankers’ Association (ABA), said: “The survey is called the ‘Bank Satisfaction” survey, yet consumers could be misled into believing the contrary because the Australian Consumers’ Association did not include the data results showing an increase in overall satisfaction.” “Given ACA purports to provide factual information to better inform consumers, the ABA will write to the Australian Consumers’ Council, expressing our concerns.” “The ABA acknowledges that much more work needs to be done to improve satisfaction levels. As 27.25% of bank customers report dissatisfaction with their bank, so banks and the wider industry must still strive to improve services and value for their customers.”“Despite claims from the ACA that dissatisfaction levels have worsened, in fact the opposite is true. Across the big four banks, there was a 3.25 percentage points decrease from 30.5% in 2000.”  Also, ABA notes from the 2002 ‘Choice’ Survey that most people are dissatisfied with bank fees. While it is not expected that many people would respond favourably to questions about fees for banking or many other services, the banking industry and individual banks have taken steps to ensure low-income earners are not precluded from accessing transaction accounts because of fees.  For further information contact: Heather Wellard ABA PR  Phone:  02 8298 0411 Mobile:  0409 830 439   ATTACHMENT TO PRESS-RELEASE [1] The ABA has used the word ‘appear’ in the media release, because, despite a written request, we cannot get access to the information from the Australian Consumers’ Association (ACA) that would enable a comprehensive evaluation of the ‘Choice’ survey. Our analysis is based on our understanding of the Survey methodology used to compile the survey findings. See attached table for missing data in the 2002 ‘Choice’ survey.