Australian customers embrace smaller banks as top four bear brunt of scandal

Customer satisfaction was high for mid-sized lenders like Bendigo and ING.

Mid-sized banking players enjoyed high levels of customer satisfaction by end-March with Bendigo Bank and ING making it to the top 10 most trusted brands list in the country, according to market research firm Roy Morgan. 

Also read: Foreign banks flock to Australia as local lenders reel from damning probe

In the most recent survey, Bendigo Bank emerged as the third most trusted Australian brand, losing out only to supermarket chain ALDI and insurer NRMA, which occupied the first and second spots, respectively. ING rounded of the list as the 10th most trusted brand.

On the other hand, the major banking players - ANZ, CBA, NAB and Westpac - have slumped to the bottom half of the customer satisfaction index following results of a damning probe which revealed a winding history of corporate wrongdoing.

Also read: Rural lending woes come knocking at Australian banks

Another survey by Essential Media revealed that nearly half (47%) of Australians have expressed less amount of trust in major banks compared to the 14% who expressed greater trust in the Big Four.

“Australians want a banking institution they can trust to put them first. Our model is solely customer-focused because 100 per cent of profits are used to benefit customers,” Michael Lawrence, CEO of Customer Owned Banking Association told The Adviser AU.

Photo from Bendigo Bank