Handelsbanken tops CMA business banking survey for sixth time while strengthening distinct approach
Local relationship bank, Handelsbanken, has retained its top-ranking position in three of the five categories identified by the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) independent service quality survey for business banking.
The Bank, which has maintained its strong focus on supporting local customers through the ongoing crisis, has today been named best for overall service quality (76%) for the sixth time, as well as coming top for relationship / account management (86%), and for SME overdraft and loan services (73%).
Commenting on the results, Mikael Sorensen, UK CEO, says: “Our distinct model enables us to provide our customers with very high levels of bespoke customer service through the long-term, personal relationships we form with them.
“Over the last 12 months, whilst much has changed, the direct contact our customers have with their branch teams has enabled us to continue working closely with each business or household, to provide bespoke solutions to their needs, both in the short and longer term.
“This year and beyond, we will be strengthening this approach by placing expertise and support closer to our branches thereby empowering them to offer our customers a tailored personal service coupled with enhanced digital solutions.”
The CMA’s ongoing independent service quality survey, most recently conducted from January 2020 to December 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 branches in local communities 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 twelfth 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 Rating.
All banks participating in the CMA’s independent service quality survey are required to display the latest results in their branches and on their websites. The survey is ongoing and the results are updated every six months, in August and February.
The survey interviews approximately 1,200 customers per provider across Great Britain each year. Results are only published where at least 100 customers have provided a score for a service in the survey period.
