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National Customer Satisfaction Index Results: Retail Banks, Credit Card Providers, Home and Motor Insurance Companies and Mortgage Lenders Improve

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LONDON (November 22, 2011) – Customer satisfaction is up for the third quarter of 2011, according to the National Customer Satisfaction Index (), produced in partnership with the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) and CFI Group.  After falling in Q2 – the first decline in two years - the index is up 0.3% to 74.7 on a 0-100 scale.

The gain is the result of small improvements in customer satisfaction across Retail Banks, Mortgage Lenders, Home and Motor Insurance, and Credit Cards. Among 22 financial services companies, 55% improve while only 32% decline and another 13% are unchanged from a year ago.

Customer satisfaction with retail banks increases (1%) to a score of 72. Smaller banks and building societies outperform the industry again, with an average score of 75. HSBC still has the highest customer satisfaction score among the major banks, but weakens this year (-5% to 74) as Lloyds TSB narrows the gap (+ 4% to 73). Barclays (+1%) and RBS Group (+6%) both improve to tie at 72.  At the bottom of the industry are Santander (+1%) and HBOS (+5) at 69.

Despite a 1% improvement to 71 as mortgage rates reached record lows, customer satisfaction with mortgage lenders remains weaker than other financial services. Among the major lenders, Nationwide has the highest customer satisfaction score for the fourth year, up 1% to 77. Barclays (including Woolwich) improves (1%) and Lloyds TSB declines (-1%) to tie at 73. RBS Group gains 3% to match HBOS at 70, and Santander remains at the bottom, despite a 1% improvement to 68.

Credit Card customer satisfaction is up 1% to 75, a record high for the industry. Smaller credit card issuers lead the category again, with an NCSI score of 79. Among the major banks, HSBC takes the lead with a 6% improvement to 76. RBS and HBOS both score 72. At 70, Barclays now scores better than Lloyds TSB, which falls to 69.

Customer satisfaction with Home & Motor Insurance improves to a score of 76, highest among the financial services. The improvement is due to an increase among smaller insurance provides, up 1% to 77, leading the industry in customer satisfaction. Among the larger insurers, Churchill maintains the lead at 76. RSA (-3%), Direct Line (-3%), Aviva (-1%) and Zurich (unchanged) all score at 73.

About
The National Customer Satisfaction Index () is an economic indicator of customer evaluations of the quality of products and services available to household consumers in the United Kingdom. Results are based on survey data from more than 6,000 customers, collected via online panel Research Now during Q3 of 2011. The NCSI applies the technology of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) developed by CFI Group and the University of Michigan. NCSI is updated quarterly with data from different sectors of the economy.