Handelsbanken has been rated top for customer satisfaction for the eighth year running, in an independent survey of British banks’ personal and business customers.
The 145-year-old locally-focused bank, with branches in Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks, has outstripped its British banking competitors for both customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Handelsbanken has enjoyed a similar situation in its home country of Sweden since surveys began in 1989.
The survey – conducted by European research institution EPSI Rating – confirms that Handelsbanken maintained its top rankings.
The results build on the bank’s recent standing in the government-backed Business Banking Insight survey (BBI), where Handelsbanken was ranked top by its SME customers.
Run by the British Chambers of Commerce and the Federation of Small Businesses, the BBI survey found that Handelsbanken’s SME customers were more willing than customers of their competitors to recommend their bank.
As well as the Tunbridge Wells branch, Handelsbanken now serves individual and corporate customers in another 206 communities throughout Great Britain. The bank believes local branches are best placed to make all decisions relating to their customers. Tunbridge Wells branch staff have full power to advise customers and agree individual product terms and pricing, free from targets or bonus incentives.
Nick Green, Manager of Handelsbanken’s Tunbridge Wells branch, said:
“It is always encouraging to see that the work we have put in to providing a truly bespoke banking service is recognised by our customers.
“This has given us, here in Tunbridge Wells, the confidence to invest in and expand our branch in the last year, having moved into new premises and taken on two new members of staff.”
