The following post is provided by the Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA), World Council's direct member organization in Australia.

Customer owned banking institutions have continued to deliver the highest levels of customer satisfaction for Australia's banking sector during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Roy Morgan’s latest ‘Customer Satisfaction on Consumer Banking in Australia’ report shows the mutual sector at 89.2%, up by 0.7% on a year ago. Bank Australia leads in customer satisfaction, closely followed by Bank First, Beyond Bank Australia and Teachers Mutual Bank, ahead of Heritage Bank, Greater Bank and RACQ Bank.

Newcastle Permanent Building Society, People’s Choice Credit Union and Credit Union Australia also maintain a high level of customer satisfaction.

COBA members also represent six of the 10 most trusted banking institutions in the country, as rated by the latest edition of the Banking Brand and Trust Index, published by digital research house, Glow. Released in late July, the tracking study sees P&N Bank, Heritage Bank, Greater Bank, RACQ Bank, Credit Union Australia and Beyond Bank Australia feature in the top 10.

COBA CEO and World Council Board Treasurer Michael Lawrence said the results speak to the commitment of customer owned banking institutions in prioritizing the security of customers during the health crisis.

“From the outset of COVID-19, our members have been on the front foot of customer care. They have proactively contacted customers at risk of vulnerability, responded to requests for assistance with respect and sensitivity, and have pivoted operations to remote work arrangements and digital capability where required, ensuring customers are never on their own," said Lawrence. “Rather than pay out shareholders, customer owned banking institutions reinvest profits back into benefits for customers through lower interest rates, lower fees and innovative technology.”

Roy Morgan’s Customer Satisfaction report is based on in-depth interviews conducted face-to-face with over 50,000 consumers per annum in their homes. The latest data in this release is for the six months ended May 2020.

Glow utilized an online platform to collate 1,230 responses between 23 to 30 June 2020