Customer satisfaction with
retail banks in China has improved
this year due to the industry's
efforts in creating transparency, according
to a survey released by JD
Power Asia Pacific Inc on
Monday.
Overall satisfaction in 2013
improved by 74 points to 761 on a
1,000-point scale from 2012, after having
experienced a two-point increase one
year earlier, the company
said.
"The dramatic improvement
in customer satisfaction is attributed
to the concerted efforts across the
industry in creating transparency and
improving the customer experience," said
Steven Zou, director of financial
services at the company.
He
said closer scrutiny by the China
Banking Regulatory Commission of banks'
business transparency in 2012 effectively
helped banks standardize their processes
in dealing with
customers.
Improvement in facilities,
product offerings, account information,
transactions and problem resolution
contributed to the overall increase in
satisfaction, Zou said.
Overall
satisfaction among retail banking customers
in China who use self-service channels
stood at 786 points, 51 points higher
than among those who do not use
such channels.
Satisfaction with
large commercial banks increased 76 points
from 2012, while satisfaction with
joint-stock banks rose 61 points, said
the company.
The survey
covered 9,267 retail-banking customers in 20
cities, and involved the operations of
21 banks.
China Everbright Bank
Co ranked the highest in customer
satisfaction, followed by China Minsheng
Banking Corp and Shanghai Pudong
Development Bank Co Ltd.
Bank
of Communications Ltd ranked highest
among the State-owned commercial lenders
with 787 points. It was also the
most improved bank in the
survey.
The survey measures
customer satisfaction regarding transactions,
product offerings, account information,
accommodations, fees, and problem
resolution.
"As for what types
of problems customers experienced in
the past 12 months, lower satisfaction
came from longer waiting times, lack
of notification about fees or bad
service," Zou said.
"China has
clearly moved a long way in
delivering superior customer satisfaction
with retail banking services," said
Rockwell Clancy, vice-president of global
financial services at JD
Power.
"Yet there is still
a tremendous opportunity for competitors
to differentiate themselves in bringing
greater uniformity to processes and
practices that affect customers, being
absolutely transparent about the pricing
and risks of their products, and
resolving customer complaints more
effectively."
The survey showed 29
percent of customers said they were
not adequately notified of new product
risks, while 39 percent said they did
not receive notification about
fees.
