Handelsbanken named most recommended for SME banking in CMA survey

Dunfermline branch credits Handelsbanken’s decentralised model and strong customer relationships for its top ranking

Handelsbanken, the local relationship bank with over 200 branches across the UK, has been ranked top in four of the five categories identified by the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) independent service quality survey for business banking, the results of which have been published for the first time.

Handelsbanken Dunfermline credits its decentralised model and strong local customer relationships for the Bank’s top ranking in the survey.

The survey, conducted from September 2017 to June 2018, is intended to help customers compare the quality of service offered by Britain’s 14 largest business current account providers. The survey looks at customers’ willingness to recommend a financial provider to other SMEs based on factors such as their overall service quality and their online, mobile, lending and branch services.

The results show that Handelsbanken was rated best for overall quality of service (84%); relationship / account management (90%); SME overdraft and loan services (84%); and services in branches and business centres (76%).

Run by a team of four experienced local bankers, Handelsbanken Dunfermline is one of over 200 UK branches, stretching from Inverness to Truro, Colwyn Bay to Canterbury.

Handelsbanken’s branch-based banking model places a clear focus on customer satisfaction and developing long term customer relationships. The Bank has no product or sales targets and customers enjoy direct contact with local, decision-making branch teams.

This approach has already led to Handelsbanken receiving the highest rating for customer satisfaction and loyalty for the ninth year running in an independent survey of British banks’ personal and business customers*.

Jim Donnelly, Branch Manager of Handelsbanken’s Dunfermline branch, commented: “The results of this latest survey are a clear signal that our clients welcome our traditional relationship driven approach and this we expect will help us grow our business further across Fife. We are delighted with the results’’.

Mikael Sorensen, Handelsbanken UK CEO, says: “We are very pleased with the CMA survey results which show just how much our customers value our long-term relationship banking. Our local branch based model means that staff get to know their customers very well and are able to offer services based on their needs and requirements.

Handelsbanken is in the process of creating a subsidiary in the UK which will enable us to take full advantage of the growth potential we see in the UK. Our branches will remain central to our future strategy but we will blend our branch-based model with digital solutions that our customers need so that we can continue to deliver the high level of service they have come to expect of us.”