Survey Results – New Zealand

Primary Bank

Respondents were relatively evenly spread across the major banks. 19% were Westpac customers, 17% National Bank, 16% Kiwibank, 15% ASB, 13% BNZ and 11% ANZ.

Length of relationship with primary bank

Nearly half (48%) had been customers of the same bank for more than 10 years. – and 71% had been a customer for at least 5 years.

Banks with longest serving customers were ANZ (65% for more than 10 years), Westpac (64%) and National (60%). 62% of Kiwibank customers had been with the bank for less than 5 years.

Change of primary bank

39% had changed their primary bank in the last 10 years. 10% said they would like to change but it either takes too long or costs too much.

National Bank customers were least likely to have changed (68%). 82% of Kiwibank customers had changed from another bank in the last 10 years.

22% of ANZ customers said they would like to change.

Reason for changing bank

43% had changed banks because they could get a better deal elsewhere and 31% changed because they had a bad experience with their former bank.

52% of new BNZ customers had changed because of a bad experience at their former bank.

Satisfaction with their bank

53% of respondents were satisfied with their current bank and 24% were dissatisfied.

Highest levels of satisfaction were recorded for other banks (86%) and Kiwibank (80%).

38% of ANZ customers said they were dissatisfied.

ANZ, National and Westpac were below average in terms of satisfaction.

Direction of bank

36% think their bank is moving in the right direction, 31% think they are moving in the wrong direction.

46% of ANZ customers think their bank is moving in the wrong direction.

66% of Kiwibank customers and 58% of other bank customers think their bank is moving in the right direction.

The performance of banks in general

Overall, banks are rated highly for keeping up-to-date with new technologies (61%), but relatively poorly for maintaining a healthy balance between keeping the bank profitable and keeping banking affordable (54% getting worse), showing a commitment to employing New Zealanders (42%) and being a valued member of the community (38%).

There were few differences across banks on these measures.

Kiwibank is rated more highly on keeping up-to-date with new technologies (72% improving) and National less well (50% improving).

59% think ANZ is getting worse in terms of showing a commitment to employing New Zealanders.

Technology and customer service improvement

Overall, 37% think customer service has got worse, 35% stayed the same and 28% improved.

56% of ANZ customers and 47% of Kiwibank customers think service has got worse.

54% of ASB customers think service has stayed much the same.

No bank stood out above the others in terms of improved customer service.

Type of Debt

84% of respondents had some form of debt.

The most common forms of debt were credit card debt (57%) and mortgages (44%).

Customers of BNZ were more likely to have credit card debt (71%) and mortgages (52%). Customers of other banks were less likely to have credit card debt (44%).

Debt was evenly spread across all age groups from 26 to 65 years.

Younger respondents were most likely to have other forms of debt (71% aged under 35) and older respondents more likely to have no debt (54% aged 55+).

Level of comfort with debt

42% said they were comfortable with their level of debt and 39% were uncomfortable. Customers of ASB were less likely to feel uncomfortable (29%). 48% of ANZ customers felt uncomfortable.

Those who most felt uncomfortable were those with personal loans (56%), car loans (51%) and line of credit (48%). Only 23% of those with personal loans felt comfortable.

Reason for concern over debt

The main concerns about debt were about rising interest rates (47%) and stability of income and job (39%). 28% said they were not concerned.

However, the size of the loan and the ability to service it was of concern to those who had car loans (40%), personal loans (39%) and line of credit (37%).

There were few major differences by bank except for 38% of National Bank customers saying they were not concerned.

Customer Service

61% disagreed that fees don’t bother me as long as I get better service in return. 52% said they always have to wait in a queue or on hold to get served.

Lack of staff is a major issue for ANZ (69%) and queuing is a major concern for ANZ (69%) and Kiwibank (63%).

Concern about being under pressure to take another product was highest with customers of BNZ (38%) and ANZ (35%).

Interest rates

There was general support for regulation of interest rates. A majority agreed that the government should only allow banks to change interest rates in accordance with Reserve Bank decisions (56%) and that I would be more likely to vote for a political party promising to increase regulation around interest rates (56%).

68% disagreed that I don’t mind paying high interest rates or getting less interest on my savings if banks provide good service.

There was little difference of opinion by bank, but a little more concern from those who have personal loans.

Debt Selling

There was strong agreement that bank workers should be paid for providing professional customer service, not just selling products (92%) and if a workers’ salary is tied to selling products, I’d be less likely to see their financial advice as impartial (85%).

61% said they were surprised that bank workers’ salaries are tied to how many products they sell and only 29% agreed that there is nothing wrong with workers getting commissions for selling financial products (57% disagreed).

There were few differences by bank. Kiwibank customers were somewhat more likely to disagree with bank workers receiving commissions.

Profits/CEO Salaries

There was strong agreement that there should be a requirement for New Zealand banks to let people know if their personal data is being sent to other countries (89%) and banks need to balance corporate interests with acting in New Zealand’s interest (89%). 62% agreed that the Government should cap bank executive salaries.

However, respondents were evenly divided over whether highly profitable banks are good for our economy (36% agree/37% disagree) and running a big business like a bank is hard work and CEO’s deserve to be paid very well (38%/41%).

The main differences by bank were that Kiwibank customers were more likely to agree with capping executive salaries (77%) and disagree that highly profitable banks are good for our economy (52%) and CEO’s deserve to be paid very well (54%).

Responsible lending

There was strong majority support for Government regulation of bank lending and other financial practices. 81% supported new, global rules to prevent high-risk banking activities, 68% agreed with tougher regulation to stop personal debt getting out of hand and 68% agreed the Government should step in and stop banks’ high risk activities. About half (49%) agreed that they would be more likely to support a political party that promised tough new rules for banks.

Kiwibank customers were more likely to support bank regulation – but otherwise there were few differences by bank.

Charter for better banking

Support for the five proposals for a charter of better banking ranged from 65% (interest rates in line with Reserve Bank) to 86% (stop off-shoring New Zealand jobs). There were few substantial differences by bank.