New data from Roy Morgan shows that in the six months to October 2018 satisfaction fell to 78.0 per cent when just a month before, in September, it had been at 78.5 per cent.
The findings show the impact that the royal commission has had on the industry; prior to the hearings, satisfaction was at 81.2 per cent.
The 3.2 per cent fall now takes banks to its lowest level of satisfaction in seven years; however, it still remains above the long-term average and higher than the 58.7 per cent dissatisfaction recorded in 2001.
The big four banks suffered the biggest decline, declining by 4.2 percentage points since January and now sitting below the average at 75.0 per cent.
Satisfaction among other bank customers only dropped by 1 percentage point leaving other banks with an overall rating of 83.9 per cent.
Roy Morgan’s industry communication director Norman Morris said that, given the publicity around the royal commission, it is not surprising that satisfaction has dropped.
“Given the high volume of negative publicity relating to the big four banks that continues to be generated by the royal commission, it is not surprising that customer satisfaction with them has shown greater declines than for other banks this year,” he said.
However, the figure was well above the lowest level ever recorded and Mr Morris said the data showed many people still supported the banks.
“What needs to be noted however, is that contrary to all the negative reporting on banks, the clear majority of their customers remain satisfied with them and only around 6 per cent claim to be dissatisfied.”
