UK bank customers can now see more clearly how their bank compares on service quality, following CMA and FCA action.
Banks must publish information on how likely people would be to recommend their bank – as well as its online and mobile banking, branch and overdraft services – to friends, relatives or other businesses.
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The initial CMA survey covers the 16 largest personal current account providers in Great Britain and 9 in Northern Ireland.
The results show the proportion of customers who said they were ’extremely likely’ or ‘very likely’ to recommend each service.
Overall, the survey results highlight success for first direct, Metro Bank and Nationwide.
Of the traditional big four banks, Barclays performs strongly compared to its peers.
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By GlobalDataAt the other end of the scale there remains work to do for Clydesdale and RBS.
Best bank in UK for overall service quality: the winners
Customers were asked how likely they would be to recommend their personal current account provider to friends and family.
The top three ranked brands come as no great surprise. First direct ranks top with 85% just ahead of Metro Bank (83%) and some way ahead of Nationwide (73%).
At the bottom of the rankings are Cooperative (55%), Clydesdale and RBS both on 49%.
Service quality: Online and mobile banking
First direct (87%) and Metro Bank (81%) are again the top two ranked brands.
Barclays (79%) just pips Halifax and Nationwide (both 78%) for third.
Clydesdale ranks last with 63%, just behind Coventry Building Society (64%) and RBS with 65%.
Service quality: Overdrafts
Metro Bank and first direct rank joint top with 75%. Barclays scores best of the rest with 63% ahead of HSBC with 60%.
RBS and Clydesdale once again are the bottom two ranked brands with 47% and 43% respectively.
Lloyds modest ranking of only 9th is a surprise and arguably an unfairly low score with just 54%. In November Lloyds ripped up its charging structure and ended unauthorised overdraft fees.
Best bank service in UK: Branches
The most predictable result of the survey is Metro Bank ranking top in the branches section of the survey.
Metro Bank scores 84% ahead of Coventry Building Society with 79%. Nationwide (77%), TSB (74%) and Santander (71%) also score well.
RBS (59%) and Clydesdale (55%) again bring up the rear.
Business banking: RBS ranks bottom
SME customers were also asked how likely they would be to recommend their business current account provider.
It will surprise few observers that Handelsbanken is the runaway winner with 84%.
Metro Bank is a clear second on 73% ahead of Santander with 66%.
Once again RBS ranks last on 47% just behind Clydesdale (50%).
From February 2019, banks must publish figures on how long it takes to open current accounts and replace debit cards.
Christopher Woolard, Executive Director of Strategy and Competition at the FCA, said:
“Getting a good deal isn’t just about pricing. It’s also important for customers – including individuals and small businesses – to be able to judge the quality of service around their current account and to see whether other providers could offer something that suits them better.
“This information should encourage providers to offer the services that people value.”
