A word to the banks: Trust is won through ongoing positive behaviour, not one-off gestures
The banks have a lot of work ahead of them to regain consumer trust. But the real graft needs to take place within the small, everyday interactions, rather than big, one-off gestures. Yell’s Nigel Roberts explains.
Last week I received a letter from my bank and mortgage provider, ING. They very kindly wrote to tell me that rates on my variable loans were going up by 0.15%. That was it. No reason, no explanation, no context as to why my loan, which was only recently refinanced to a better rate, would be going back up again.
Think about the context. RBA cash rates on hold for 26 months, a stuttering housing market, and a relatively strong domestic economy and you wonder, firstly, why have the rates gone up at all? Then you put that in the specific context of the seemingly ever-growing profitability of the big four retail banks and it appears to add up to a profit grab, plain and simple.
However, there’s context for the banks too. Market conditions have meant the cost of borrowing has increased and has been hit by fluctuations in the Bank Bill Swap Rate (BBSW), an industry short-term interest rate that directly impacts on banks’ ability to raise funding for mortgages. So there is a technical explanation, but, does that make it right? And, how on earth can the banks get away with such a terrible experience?
Looking forward to the next wave of brand advertising from the banks and superannuation companies. What’s the bet most will continue with the same old patronising crap about putting the customer first? And they will be demolished on Google box.
Remember when NAB ran that campaign they were ‘breaking up’ with the other ones in the Big 4 ? That, too was meant to signal that NAB was more customer oriented, really wanted to help its customers, etc. So much for that. While the bank marketing departments might really want to be helpful, and for the rest of the business to be more customer-oriented, at the end of the day you’ve got a bunch of very affluent bankers running the place.
A word to the banks: nobody who has half a brain will ever trust you