Singapore banks top customer satisfaction in Asian transaction banking

SINGAPORE (June 25): The primary transaction banking customers of United Overseas Bank (UOB) are most satisfied with the bank’s liquidity management solutions in Asia, according to East and Partners’ latest research.

On a satisfaction scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is most satisfied and 5 most dissatisfied, UOB got the highest score of 1.70, ahead of Standard Chartered (1.75), OCBC (1.78) and DBS (1.80).

In addition, the research showed that the top three banks in Singapore are also ranked highly by their customers in terms of short term debt. OCBC leads this at 1.53, followed by UOB, Bank of China, CIMB and DBS.

Both liquidity management and short term debt were identified by the nominating companies by large companies as the key product lines of banks, says East and Partners.

This highlights the core areas of focus for the treasury departments of banks in the near future as they continue to prioritise optimising cash flow and enhancing working capital efficiency, it adds.

In terms of service metrics, the Singapore banks are also winning marks in critical factors including value for money and credit approval turnaround times as companies take on cost-cutting measures in their day-to-day operations.

Sangiita Yoong, East and Partners Asia business head, says, “This actually plays into the Singapore banks’ advantage as the big international banks start to refine and rationalise their relationships with corporate clients. We know that over 90% of the corporates in Asia cite value for money as a key driver of switching to alternative providers if they are offered a better deal.”

“The key issue now is how to turn these happy customers into advocates and subsequently ensuring a strong presence in the customer’s mind. In short, linking customer satisfaction with advocacy and wallet growth,” adds Yoong.