RANK THE
The Banks
Financial counsellors in Australia rank the
financial hardship policies of the ‘big four’ banks
… and some of the smaller banks
MAY 2013
Financial counselling associations involved in this report:
FCRC
Financial & Consumer
Rights Council Inc.
Published by:
Financial Counselling Australia (FCA)
Ground Floor, River Tower, 20 Pidgeon Close, West End, Queensland 4101
PO Box 3482, South Brisbane, Queensland 4101
Telephone: 07 3004 6911
Fax: 07 3004 6999
Email: [email protected]
Disclaimer
This report is based on a survey of financial counsellors. It does not represent the
attitudes or opinions of other third parties, including funding bodies.
Contents
Acknowledgements2
Foreword3
1
2
3
1 RANK THE BANKS | 2013
Executive Summary
5
BACKGROUND 8
1.1
Survey Overview
8
1.2Methodology
8
1.3
9
Reach and Respondent Profile
QUANTITATIVE RESULTS 11
2.1
Overall Rank
11
2.2
Best and Least Performing, Most Improved
12
2.3Communication
13
2.4
Attitude 14
2.5
Client Outcomes
14
2.6
Other Lenders
17
QUALITATIVE RESULTS 20
3.1Introduction
20
3.2ANZ
21
3.3CBA
21
3.4NAB
22
3.5Westpac
22
3.6
Big Four: Other Comments
23
3.7
Citibank and GE
24
3.8
Other Banks
25
4
CONCLUSION AND NEXT STEPS 28
5
APPENDIX 1 29
Acknowledgements
The National Rank the Bank survey 2013 is a joint project between the State and Territory
financial counselling associations and the peak body for financial counsellors, Financial
Counselling Australia. The State and Territory financial counselling organisations are:
◗◗ Financial Counsellors ACT
◗◗ Financial Counsellors Association of New South Wales
◗◗ Money Workers Association of the Northern Territory
◗◗ Financial Counsellors Association of Queensland
◗◗ South Australian Financial Counsellors’ Association
◗◗ Financial Counselling Tasmania
◗◗ Financial and Consumer Rights Council Victoria
◗◗ Financial Counsellors Association of Western Australia
The national survey would not have been possible without the inaugural 2012
Victorian Rank the Bank report, produced by the Victorian peak body. We particularly
acknowledge the input of the FCRC Banking Issues Working Party and Victorian financial
counsellors.
Funding for this survey was provided by:
◗◗ Financial and Consumer Rights Council
◗◗ Financial Counsellors Association of Western Australia
◗◗ Financial Counselling Australia
Most importantly, thank you to all of the financial counsellors who took the time to
complete the 2013 Rank the Bank survey.
2 RANK THE BANKS | 2013
Foreword
“
Financial counsellors assist consumers in financial difficulty.
They provide information, support and advocacy to help
consumers deal with their immediate financial situation and
minimise the risk of future financial problems. The majority of
financial counsellors work in community organisations. Their
services are free, confidential and independent.
”
Just about anyone can find themselves in financial difficulty—you lose your job, you or
someone close to you becomes ill, your relationship breaks down or, like many people
living on government benefits, you simply don’t have enough money to live on. If tough
times hit, you need the comfort of knowing that your bank will be there to help you
through.
Every day financial counsellors assist hundreds of Australians in financial difficulty.
We are therefore well placed to comment on how well the banks are assisting their
customers experiencing financial hardship. This was the driver for the 2013 Rank the
Banks survey—we wanted more rigorous data about bank performance in this area.
The focus of the survey is primarily on the ‘big four’ banks as these are by far the biggest
providers of financial services to the community. However, financial counsellors also
interact with some of the second tier banks, and in some States, this ‘local’ bank may in
fact be quite a big player. For this reason, the survey also included a smaller number of
questions about these banks.
The survey builds on an earlier piece of work, published in 2012, by the Victorian peak
body for financial counsellors, the Financial and Consumer Rights Council. A number of
the banks asked us to repeat the survey, but at a national level. They share our concern
about ensuring that customers are provided with adequate hardship assistance and
were also interested in getting a broader, national perspective.
While inevitably survey rankings highlight differences between banks, this is not an
exercise in criticism for its own sake. As a sector, we work cooperatively with the banking
industry and have an ongoing and constructive dialogue. We also acknowledge the
industry’s genuine commitment to improving hardship policies and practices. For
example, under the auspices of the Australian Bankers Association, the industry is soon
to release a guideline on hardship that, if implemented, will lead to positive change.
3 RANK THE BANKS | 2013
However we also recognise that more can be done. Our role as advocates for consumers
is to highlight both what is working and where there are areas for improvement. We are
confident that the survey results will be a catalyst for further discussion with the banking
industry as a whole, and with individual banks, about customer hardship. Subject to
funding, we hope to repeat the survey in future years.
Carmel Franklin
Chair, Financial Counselling Australia
on behalf of the Chairs of the State and Territory financial counselling associations
Rachael Milfull, Financial Counsellors ACT
Vicki Geraghty, Financial Counsellors Association of New South Wales
Eric Neil, Money Workers Association of the Northern Territory
Mark Phillips, Financial Counsellors Association of Queensland
Anne Crouch, South Australian Financial Counsellors’ Association
Bert Aperloo, Financial Counselling Tasmania
Maria Turnbull, Financial and Consumer Rights Council
John Talbert, Financial Counsellors Association of Western Australia
4 RANK THE BANKS | 2013
Executive Summary
The National Rank the Banks survey 2013 captured the experience of 249 financial
counsellors from every State and Territory in Australia regarding how well the banks deal
with customers in financial hardship. This represents an overall survey response rate of
27% of the sector. The focus was on the ‘big four’ banks—ANZ, CBA, NAB and Westpac—
but the survey also included some questions on several second tier banks.
The ‘big four’
◗◗ Respondents were asked to provide an overall ranking for each bank, where one was
◗◗
◗◗
◗◗
◗◗
◗◗
◗◗
the lowest ranking and 10 the highest. NAB was the leader overall with a score of 6.2. In
order, the other banks were ranked: ANZ 5.9, Westpac 5.0 and CBA 4.4.
However, the overall rankings mask a degree of variability. While financial counsellors as
a majority rated NAB and ANZ as the best to deal with, there were still a sizeable number
of people who reported the opposite experience. In other words, all of the banks
sometimes do well and sometimes do not.
The same rank order of NAB, ANZ, Westpac and then CBA was evident for all of the
detailed questions: first and subsequent communication with financial counsellors;
attitutes toward financial counsellors and clients; whether initial repayment
arrangements were affordable and whether final outcomes were fair and reasonable.
Consistency was an issue across the board. The survey asked whether customers in
similar circumstances are provided with consistent outcomes ‘none of the time’, ‘some
of the time’, ‘most of the time’ or ‘all of the time’. No bank achieved a 50% score or more
when the answers for ‘most of the time’ or ‘all of the time’ were combined.
Understanding of long-term hardship—where a customer is unable to pay a debt in the
forseeable future —continues to be a cause of concern. Financial counsellors said that all
banks had a ‘poor’ understanding (although the result for NAB was slightly better).
If a financial counsellor is unable to negotiate a fair repayment arrangement on behalf of
a client, they may escalate this to the Financial Ombudsman Service. This was a relatively
uncommon pathway. Of all the banks, escalation was more likely for CBA.
ANZ was rated as the most improved bank in terms of hardship policies and practices
over the past six months.
Citibank and GE
◗◗ Citibank and GE were included in the survey as they are often part of the day-to-day
casework of financial counsellors. Respondents were asked to compare them to the ‘big
four’ banks in relation to assisting customers in hardship.
◗◗ Citibank did not fare well. It was seen as ‘much worse’ or ‘worse’ compared to the ‘big
four’ banks by 64% of respondents in total. GE in contrast was seen as ‘about the same’
(33% of respondents) or ‘better’ (23% of respondents).
◗◗ The same pattern was evident in the overall ranking, using a scale of one to 10, where
one was the lowest rating and 10 the highest. Citibank was rated at 3.5 and GE at 5.6.
5 RANK THE BANKS | 2013
Smaller banks
◗◗ An optional question allowed respondents to comment on the hardship policies and
practices of some of the second tier banks operating in Australia. The banks rated in this
question were: AMP Bank, Bank of Queensland, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, Bankwest,
HSBC, ING Direct, Macquarie, Members Equity Bank and Suncorp.
◗◗ Although it needs to be kept in mind that the numbers of financial counesllors rating a
particular bank were much smaller than those commenting on the ‘big four’ , this does
not necessarily detract from the validity of the results.
◗◗ In general, the ratings, again on a scale of one to 10, were very low. The lowest ranked
bank in the ‘big four’ was the CBA with a score of 4.4. With the exception of Members
Equity Bank (4.5) all of the other second tier banks were below this benchmark.
Macquarie had the lowest ranking overall of 3.1.
◗◗ These results show that, compared with the ‘big four’ banks, these smaller banks are
perceived to have a poorer understanding of customer hardship, do not understand or
acknowledge the role of financial counsellors and have unclear pathways and processes
for assisting customers seeking hardship assistance.
Conclusions
◗◗ There are differences between the ‘big four’ banks when it comes to assisting customers
◗◗
◗◗
◗◗
◗◗
6 RANK THE BANKS | 2013
in hardship, with some banks, more responsive and effective than others.
This is not to say however, that any one bank can rest on its laurels. It is clear from the
‘spread’ of responses to each question, as well as the qualitative comments, that there
can be a lot of variability both within and between banks.
The result that is of particular concern relates to the smaller banks, including Citibank.
We are aware that Citibank has recently embarked on significant reforms to its hardship
polices and practices and expect that these should be picked up in future surveys.
The financial counselling sector however needs to engage more with some of the
smaller banks, as the results are very disappointing. Given the dominance of the ‘big four’
the sector has tended to focus on them alone, but it is obviously now timely to reach
more widely.
Finally, we look forward to continuing to work with all of the banks, both big and small,
around improving hardship responses.
◗◗
1
BACKGROUND
“
Customers are experiencing financial hardship if they want to
pay their debts, but are unable to do so.
1.1
”
Survey Overview
Financial Counselling Australia and the State and Territory peak bodies for financial
counselling regularly receive feedback from financial counsellors about the hardship
practices of the banking industry. While this feedback assists in policy and advocacy, this
survey provides a more comprehensive and rigorous analysis.
At December 2012, 16.59 million customers aged 14 years and over, chose banks as their
main financial institution. By comparison, credit unions and building societies were the
main financial institution for 1.3 million customers and 499,000 customers respectively.1
Of the Australian banks, the ‘big four’—ANZ, CBA, NAB and Westpac —provide the
majority of financial services to customers.2
With the largest customer base, the ‘big four’ also service the largest proportion of
banking customers in financial hardship and these banks were the focus of the survey.
However the survey also included some questions about the second tier banks, to
provide a more rounded picture.
All banks have policies and procedures in place to support customers experiencing
financial hardship. Apart from making good business sense, banks have legal and moral
obligations to work with their customers to overcome their financial difficulties.
1.2
Methodology
Data for the report was gathered via the Survey Monkey on-line survey platform
(Appendix 1 includes the survey tool). The survey was only for members of State and
Territory financial counselling associations. Data was collected during April and May
2013. The survey was a mix of multiple choice scaled responses and ranking style
questions. Additional open-ended questions captured qualitative feedback.
Data analysis of this survey was a mix of statistical and thematic analysis. Not all
questions were mandatory. The percentages in this report relate to the percentage
of respondents that answered a specific question, not the percentage of total survey
1 Australian Bankers’ Association Inc. (ABA) (2013) ‘Customers and customer satisfaction - Data note, http://www.bankers.asn.au
2 Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) (2013) ‘Statistics - Monthly Banking Statistics March 2013 (issued 30 April
2013)’ http://www.apra.gov.au
8 RANK THE BANKS | 2013
respondents.
1.3
Reach and Respondent Profile
The survey was undertaken by 282 financial counsellors with 247 completed responses.
There are 920 financial counsellors who are members of their State/Territory financial
counselling association. The overall national survey response rate based on survey
completion was therefore 27%.
The response rate for each State/Territory, as a percentage of their membership and
absolute numbers, is shown in Figure 1 below.
Northern
Territory
25%
Western
Australia
38%
(45 responses)
(6 responses)
Queensland
43%
(34 responses)
South Australia
10%
(10 responses)
Victoria
35%
(70 responses)
Tasmania
52%
New South
Wales
18%
(63)
Australian
Capital
Territory
64%
(7 responses)
(12 responses)
Figure 1 Response Rate for each State/Territory: Percentage and Number
A slightly larger proportion of respondents were working mainly in metropolitan regions
(56.5%) as opposed to regional/rural areas. About a third of respondents had worked in
the sector for three years or less (35.6%), while the majority of respondents had been
working as a financial counsellor for a number of years: 40.9% for four to nine years and
23.5% of respondents for 10 or more years.
Respondents were also asked how often they were in contact with the hardship teams
at each of the ‘big four’ banks on behalf of a client. Respondents most recent contact
with each of the four banks was typically within the last week or month (71.5% of
respondents). Over the previous six months, on average, respondents had been in
contact with each of the big four banks on behalf of a client on a weekly to monthly
basis (70.5% of respondents). Survey data therefore generally reflects recent experiences.
9 RANK THE BANKS | 2013
10 RANK THE BANKS | 2013
2
QUANTITATIVE RESULTS
2.1
Overall Rank
Respondents were asked to provide an overall score out of ten for each of the ‘big four’
banks in terms of their hardship policies and practices (one being the lowest ranking and
ten the highest ranking). Respondents were asked to consider all of their survey answers
in relation to communication with the bank, attitudes and processes and customer
outcomes when determining an overall score for each bank.
Figure 2 below shows the overall scores. NAB was the leader overall with a score of 6.2.
ANZ was second with a score of 5.9, followed third by Westpac with a score of 5.0. CBA
was rated the lowest among the ‘big four’ banks with a score of 4.4.
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
NAB 6.2
ANZ 5.9
Westpac 5
CBA 4.4
Figure 2 Overall Ranking of the ‘Big Four’ Banks (using a scale of 1 - 10, where 1 is the lowest
ranking)
Overall rankings mask some of the variabilty in responses. For example, while ANZ and
NAB had the highest overall scores, some financial counsellors gave them quite low
ratings. Conversely, other financial counsellors rated Westpac and CBA very highly. This
variability is shown in the four graphs in Figure 3 following.
11 RANK THE BANKS | 2013
50
50
40
40
30
30
20
20
10
10
0
0
NAB
60
ANZ
50
50
40
40
30
30
20
20
10
10
0
0
Westpac
CBA
Figure 3 Overall 1 - 10 rankings by Bank
2.2
Best and Least Performing, Most Improved
Respondents were asked which of the banks were the best performer,3 the lowest
performer4 and most improved5 in terms of customer hardship. This data is in Table 1.
Bank
Best
Performing
Least Performing Most Improved
ANZ
32%
9%
40%
CBA
14%
54%
19%
NAB
44%
11%
25%
Westpac
10%
26%
16%
Total
100%
100%
100%
Table 1 Best performing, least performing and most improved bank
3
4
5
12 RANK THE BANKS | 2013
211 people answered this question.
212 people answered this question.
154 people answered this question.
Not surprisingly, the rankings for best performing and least performing bank were the
same as described above, with NAB overall seen as the best performing bank and CBA
as the least performing bank. ANZ was rated as the bank which had most improved in
terms of hardship policies and practices over the past six months by the largest number
of respondents. However all of the other banks also had some financial counsellors who
said that they had improved the most. It is worth noting however that a relatively large
number of financial counsellors (nearly 100) were unable to answer this question saying
that they were ‘unsure’.
2.3
Communication
Respondents were asked to assess their experience of the quality of communication
with each of the ‘big four’ banks’ hardship teams in three ways: first contact; subsequent
contact; and the acceptance of third party authority forms. These aspects reflect the
typical communication a financial counsellor has with a bank, as opposed to bank and
customer communications.
Respondents were asked to rate each bank either as ‘very poor’, ‘poor’, ‘acceptable’, ‘good’
or ‘very good’. The combined percentage results for ‘good’ and ‘very good’ are shown
in Table 2 below. We also computed the weighted averages (also shown in the table
below), by assigning a value of 1 to ‘very poor’ , 2 to ‘poor’ and so on. This is another way
of analysing the data. A mark of 3 or more was equivalent to a pass mark of ‘acceptable’.
Bank
First Contact
Subsequent Contact
Letter of Authority
% ‘good’ or Weighted
‘very good’ Average
% ‘good’ or Weighted
‘very good’ Average
% ‘good’
or ‘very
good’
Weighted
Average
ANZ
48%
3.4
50%
3.4
60%
3.8
CBA
26%
2.7
25%
2.6
54%
3.6
NAB
52%
3.6
51%
3.5
63%
3.9
Westpac
37%
3.2
37%
3.2
56%
3.6
Table 2 Percentage of respondents saying that the bank was ‘good’ or ‘very good’ when it came
to first contact, subsequent contact and acceptance of letters of authority to act.
First contact
In terms of first contact and the initial ease of getting through to the bank hardship
department, NAB and ANZ had the highest ratings with 52% and 48% of respondents
respectively rating them as ‘good’ to ‘very good’. CBA had the lowest rating and did not
reach an ‘acceptable’ grade.
Subsequent contact
Following initial contact, respondents were asked to rate each of the ‘big four’ banks on
the quality of their subsequent communication with bank hardship staff considering
factors such as reliability of returned calls, responses within 21 days for hardship requests
(as required by the National Credit Code) or if agreements are confirmed in writing. The
spread of bank ratings on this topic was nearly identical to that of first contact.
13 RANK THE BANKS | 2013
Letters of authority
A letter of authority permits a financial counsellor to act on behalf of a customer when
dealing with a creditor. Respondents were asked to rate each of the ‘big four’ banks
in terms of their willingness to accept a financial counsellor authority to advocate on
behalf of their client. Respondents were very equal in their scoring across all of the ‘big
four’ banks with all banks rated as somewhere between ‘acceptable’ and ‘good’.
2.4
Attitude
Questions to respondents on attitude addressed the relationship between bank
hardship teams, customers and financial counsellors. Respondents were again asked to
rate each bank from ‘very poor’, ‘poor’, ‘acceptable’, ‘good’ or ‘very good’. Again, we also
computed a weighted average. The results are shown in Table 3 below.
Bank
Toward Client
Toward Financial Counsellors
% ‘good’ or ‘very
good’
Weighted
Average
% ‘good’ or ‘very
good’
Weighted
Average
ANZ
47%
3.4
61%
3.8
CBA
24%
2.7
42%
3.2
NAB
46%
4.1
61%
3.9
Westpac
33%
3.0
51%
3.5
Table 3 Percentage of respondents saying that the bank was ‘good’ or ‘very good’ when it came
to attitudes toward clients and toward financial counsellors
Attitude toward client
Respondents were asked to rate each of the ‘big four’ banks in terms of their general
attitude towards customers in hardship considering factors such as the empathy of the
bank hardship team, if staff attitude was helpful or unhelpful and whether customers
were listened to. Again the same pattern emerges, with NAB and ANZ being rated the
most highly. The CBA result is cause for concern.
Attitude toward financial counsellors
Each of the ‘big four’ banks were then rated by respondents in terms of general attitude
towards dealing with a financial counsellor. These results were much higher overall than
in relation to attitudes toward clients.
2.5
Client Outcomes
Financial counsellors work to achieve fair outcomes for customers in financial hardship.
For this reason, the survey focused heavily on customer outcomes capturing the
experience of financial counsellors in several areas – repayment affordability, fair
and appropriate final arrangements, long term hardship, customer self-advocacy,
consistency of outcomes for customers and referral to external dispute resolution.
14 RANK THE BANKS | 2013
Initial affordability and final arrangements
Respondents were asked whether, on balance, initial repayment arrangements offered
by the ‘big four’ banks were affordable and then in a follow up question, if the final
hardship arrangements resulted in fair, reasonable and appropriate outcomes for
customers. Response options were ‘never’, ‘sometimes’, ‘often’ or ‘always’.
Figure 4 below shows the combined percentages for ‘often’ and ‘always’ for both
questions. Overall, ANZ, NAB and Westpac scored more highly than CBA.
60
50
40
Fair, reasonable and appropriate outcomes
30
20
10
0
ANZ
CBA
NAB
Westpac
Figure 4 Perentage of respondents saying that the initial repayment arrangements are ‘often’ or
‘always’ affordable and percentage of respondents saying that final arrangements are ‘often’ or
‘always’ fair, reasonalbe and appropriate
Consistency
The survey also assessed consistency: are customers in similar circumstances provided
with consistent outcomes ‘none of the time’, ‘some of the time’, ‘most of the time’ or ‘all
of the time’. Figure 5 shows the results for ‘most of the time’ and ‘all of the time’. No bank
reached a total of 50% on this basis, indicating that lack of consistency is a real concern.
In terms of comparisons between individual banks, CBA has the lowest rating.
50
Most of the time
40
All of the time
30
20
10
0
ANZ
CBA
NAB
Westpac
Figure 5 Are clients in similar circumstances provided with substantially consistent
arrangements - results for ‘most of the time’ and ‘all of the time’
15 RANK THE BANKS | 2013
Long term hardship
Long-term hardship was defined as those customers that are not able to get back on
top of their financial situation in the near future. This question asked respondents to rate
each of the ‘big four’ banks as to whether they have an adequate understanding of the
impact of long-term hardship on customers. Response options were ‘poor’, ‘acceptable’,
‘good’ or ‘very good’.
Overall, as shown in Table 4, respondents rated the ‘big four’ banks as mainly having
either a ‘poor’ or ‘acceptable’ understanding of the impact of long-term hardship.6 Far
fewer financial counsellors said that the banks had a ‘good’ or ‘very good’ understanding.
Bank
Poor
understanding
Acceptable
understanding
Good
understanding
Very good
understanding
ANZ
39%
31%
22%
8%
CBA
56%
27%
14%
3%
NAB
32%
32%
19%
17%
Westpac
49%
33%
14%
4%
Table 4 Bank understanding of long-term hardship (with highest response highlighted)
Self advocacy
Self-advocacy in the context of this report relates to a client in financial hardship and
their ability to liaise directly with the bank to achieve positive outcomes for themselves.
Respondents were asked if in general each of the ‘big four’ banks make the same
hardship options available for self-advocating customers as the options available when
a financial counsellor is involved. Response options were ‘never’, ‘not often’, ‘sometimes’,
‘mostly’ or ‘always’.
In interpreting the results, we note that about 40 people answered ‘not sure’, presumably
because they had no comparative experience to draw on. The overall results for those
that did answer the question are in Table 5 below. They show that the majority of
financial counsellors believe that customers who self-advocate do ‘not often’ get the
same outcomes.
Bank
Never
Not often
Sometimes
Mostly
Always
ANZ
15%
42%
29%
12%
1%
CBA
24%
47%
23%
5%
0%
NAB
12%
34%
34%
19%
2%
8%
44%
28%
9%
0%
Westpac
Table 5 Bank understanding of long-term hardship (with highest response highlighted)
6 The ‘unsure’ responses are not shown. There were between 17 to 29 people who were ‘unsure’ in making this assessment.
16 RANK THE BANKS | 2013
Escalation to the Financial Ombudsman Service
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is an external dispute resolution scheme set up
to provide free, fair and accessible services to consumers unable to resolve disputes with
financial services providers. All ‘big four’ banks are members of FOS.
Respondents were asked what percentage of clients they had escalated in the past six
months to FOS, because they were unable to negotiate an appropriate arrangement
with the bank for their client. Possible responses to the question were ‘0% (none)’, ‘less
than 10%’, ‘10% to 30%’ , ‘more than 30%’ of clients or ‘unsure’.
As Table 6 shows, escalation to FOS occurs in relatively few cases. The CBA had the most
instances of escalation.
Bank
None (0%)
Less than
10%
10% to 30%
More than
30%
Unsure
ANZ
63%
25%
5%
2%
5%
CBA
50%
27%
11%
6%
6%
NAB
69%
20%
4%
2%
5%
Westpac
58%
26%
6%
3%
7%
Table 6 What percentage of your bank hardship clients have you escalated to FOS in the last six
months, because you were unable to negotiate an appropriate arrangement for your client?
2.6
Other Lenders
Respondents were provided with an opportunity to also rate Citibank and GE, as well
as several other banks. Citibank and GE were singled out as they are commonly part of
the day-to-day casework of financial counsellors. In some States, the second-tier banks
can have a strong local presence and it was important to also capture data about this
segment of the banking industry. These banks were also included in the survey as ones
that financial counsellors may interact with from time to time.
Citibank and GE
Respondents were asked to compare Citibank and GE to the big four banks in relation to
assisting customers in hardship. Were they: ‘much worse than the big four’, ‘worse than
the big four’, ‘about the same as the big four’, ‘better than the big four’ or ‘much better
than the big four’?
As Table 7 shows, Citibank did not fare well. It was seen as ‘much worse’ or ‘worse’ by 64%
of respondents in total. GE in contrast was seen as ‘about the same’ (33% of respondents)
or ‘better’ (23% of respondents).
Financial
Institution
Much
worse
Worse
About
the same
Better
Much
better
Unsure
Citibank
37%
27%
21%
4%
1%
10%
GE
211%
16%
33%
23%
12%
5%
Table 7 Overall how do Citibank and GE compare to the big four banks in relation to assisting
17 RANK THE BANKS | 2013
customers in hardship?
The same pattern was evident in the overall ranking, using a scale of one to 10, where
one was the lowest rating and 10 the highest. Citibank was rated at 3.5 and GE at 5.6.
Selected other banks
An optional question enabled respondents to comment on the hardship policies and
practices of some of the second tier smaller banks operating in Australia. The banks
rated in this question were: AMP Bank, Bank of Queensland, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank,
Bankwest, HSBC, ING Direct, Macquarie, Members Equity Bank and Suncorp.
Respondents were asked to provide a rating for a bank only if they had interacted with
them in the past six months. Again, the question used the rating scale of one to 10,
where one was the lowest rating and 10 the highest rating. The ratings for each bank are
shown in Table 8 below, together with the number of respondents who completed the
rating (as expected, there were smaller numbers of respondents for some banks).
Bank
Rating
Sample size
AMP Bank
3.7
23
Bank of Queensland
3.9
61
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank
4.3
85
Bankwest
4.1
113
HSBC
4.0
117
ING Direct
3.6
32
Macquarie
3.1
63
Members Equity Bank
4.5
40
Suncorp
3.9
71
Table 8 Ratings for second-tier banks re hardship policies
In general, these ratings are all very low. The lowest ranked bank in the ‘big four’ was the
CBA with 4.4. With the exception of Members Equity Bank (4.5) all of the other banks are
below this benchmark. Macquarie had the lowest ranking overall.
Although it needs to be kept in mind that the numbers of financial counesllors rating a
particular bank were much smaller than those commenting on the ‘big four’ , this does
not necessarily detract from the validity of the results.
18 RANK THE BANKS | 2013
3
QUALITATIVE RESULTS
3.1
Introduction
Optional open-ended questions were included in the survey to capture qualitative
feedback. Qualitative comments flesh out the raw numbers, providing insights that
would otherwise be lost.
As noted in Section 2, although there was a consistent rank order in terms of
performance for the ‘big four’, the numbers alone mask some of the variability. While
on aggregate, ANZ and NAB had higher rankings than Westpac and CBA this was not the
experience of everyone. Qualitative data therefore helps explore some of this variability.
For this reason, rather than just pick out say the ‘good’ comments for the highest
performing bank (or conversely the ‘critical’ comments for the lowest ranked bank),
this section includes comments describing the range of experience. The comments
for each bank are based on the questions in the survey regarding: ‘best peformer and
why’, ‘lowest perfomer and why’ and ‘most improved and how’ and are illustrative of the
broad themes overall in the responses. We will separately provide a complete set of the
qualitative feedback to each bank.
Table 9 below sets out the open-ended questions and the number of people who
responded to each question. As the table shows, there was a wealth of data, as many of
the survey respondents took the time to provide qualitative feedback.
Qualitative question
Which of the ‘big four’ banks do you think is the best performer in terms
of customer hardship and why?
154
Which the ‘big four’ banks do you feel is the lowest performer in terms of
customer hardship and why?
138
Which of the ‘big four’ banks has most improved their hardship policies
and practices in the past six months and how have they improved?
79
Any further comments on any of the ‘big four’ banks in regard to communication, processes or client outcomes?
110
Any comments about Citibank and GE hardship policies and practices?
89
Comment on some of the smaller banks and their hardship policies and
practices: AMP Bank, Bank of Queensland, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank,
Bankwest, HSBC, ING Direct, Macquarie, Members Equity Bank, Suncorp
38
Table 9 Qualitative questions and the number of responses
20 RANK THE BANKS | 2013
No of
responses
3.2
ANZ
Best performer and why
Returns calls promptly, deals with
matter most seriously, does not delay
decision-making, and quickest to
resolve, very few if any issues go to
FOS.
They seem to listen to both the
client and financial counsellor
and don’t expect extra irrelevant
information.
After sending paperwork, you are able to negotiate for a good outcome for your
client with the staff member in one phone call saving time and energy.
Lowest performer and why
Many of my clients have English as a second language. ANZ overall have been
unwilling to work with our financial counsellors to ensure that client needs are being
met as they have difficulties being identified using the telephone system.
The employees seem to have a
checklist in their mind and the client/
FC needs to fit within the list.
Won’t enter long-term
arrangements and offer no
alternative.
Most improved and how
While it is still a hard process to achieve hardship with the ANZ, the way that the
staff communicate with clients have improved.
ANZ appear to have become more
flexible over the years and listen to
previous suggestions by FCs.
3.3
ANZ were great, then their
performance went down. They are now
improving again which is great.
CBA
Many of my clients have English as a second language. CBA have been the most
willing to work with clients and financial counsellors to ensure they are identified so
that initial negotiations can happen.
Best performer and why
They do look at all of the issues and reasons to why the client is in hardship.
At this time CBA are the only banks that will work with our clients.
Lowest performer and why
CBA also comment on what or where customers are spending or have withdrawn
money. This is a regional area and sometimes ATMs are only in venues or the next
one 30 km away. This type of judgemental behaviour is not helpful to a distressed
client.
Difficulties with contacting the
hardship department, unrealistic
payments requested. Questions relating
to the hardship already provided in the
hardship application. Time consuming
contacts
21 RANK THE BANKS | 2013
I find they are inconsistent, don’t
contact me after initial hardship
application, lose the application.
Generally, only offer 3 months hardship
and no longer term solutions or
assistance for the client.
Most improved and how
I feel that CBA have responded to our sector and developed good processes.
CBA now have one case manager
dealing with client hardship and we are
not having to repeat the story over and
over.
3.4
CBA used to take forever to make a
decision and/or communicate, have
improved.
NAB
Best performer and why
NAB will offer other alternatives that may suit clients’ circumstances better and
explain why.
NAB is by far the most pleasant to
speak to us. They are willing to negotiate,
and regardless of whether they get what
they want or not, their attitude is friendly
and respectful.
The NAB have a solid and
consistent FC liaison team. They
know us and how we work. When
making contact I have already
worked over cases with the hardship
team and they respect my input for
the best outcome.
Lowest performer and why
We found out at the Moneycare conference that NAB were going to stop the fix
they put on short-term arrangements of interest, fees and charges. I cannot see how
it will help anyone to have the interest dropped on them at the end of the 3 month
moratorium this will make their hardship worse, this is despicable.
Difficult to deal with just the one
section/ department. Problems/delays
encountered in having documents/
authorities uploaded onto their system
causing barriers to getting a timely
resolution.
Debt waivers have not been
granted for vulnerable and complex
client.
Most improved and how
Consistency and their ongoing improvement regarding financial hardship
processes and dealing with financial counsellors.
3.5
Westpac
Best performer and why
Based on the amount of time I spend on the phone, their response time is quicker,
they do not lose the authority forms, they get back to you when they say they do.
Least docs requested and takes the
word of the FC as valid.
22 RANK THE BANKS | 2013
Responsive and offering reasonable
terms to deal with multiple issues for
one client.
Lowest performer and why
They don’t listen and are unable to make decisions quickly.
Clients need advocacy otherwise
results are poor. Also when requesting
documentation they are slow or provide
incorrect information.
They are not willing to understand
the clients’ situation and most
clients try negotiating with them
and are sent to a financial counsellor
when they could have negotiated a
hardship arrangement.
Most improved and how
Not requiring extreme docs and accepting the word of a FC more readily.
Although they are the weakest they
are also the most improved. Particularly
in letting clients pay down debt with no
interest or fees.
3.6
Now that they have a number
for financial counsellors, it makes it
easier for us to get a resolution with
this bank. .
Big Four: Other Comments
In addition to comments on specific bank performance, respondents provided general
comments on hardship policies and practices across the ‘big four’ banks. Common
themes included lack of self-advocacy opportunities for customers, poor offerings in
terms of long-term hardship solutions for customers and inconsistency both within bank
hardship departments and between the banks.
On the positive side, response time to hardship requests from financial counsellors was
consistently seen as having improved across all of the ‘big four’ banks
Self advocacy
I find difficulties when the client tries to get information or address an issue,
customers are being told they will only speak to the financial counsellor.
I have always found the ANZ, NAB and
Westpac approachable and understanding
of client needs, I have always gained a
suitable outcome However; most banks
do not seem to offer this to the customers
direct. It is unfortunate that customers
need to be represented by a financial
counsellor to negotiate on their behalf
to gain a mutual agreement (I had no
dealings with CBA)
23 RANK THE BANKS | 2013
Customers often complain that the
banks will not negotiate with them.
Some customers have complained
about inappropriate comments made
by staff at the banks. I should add
that most of the time they spoke
to the collections team and not the
hardship team.
Long-term hardship
Set procedures for long term hardship required.
All four banks: If Centrelink are happy
that someone qualifies for a disability
support pension that should also be
good enough for the banks. Trying
to get customers to organise medical
documents that the banks view as
acceptable is just adding to customers
stress levels.
Callers constantly advise us that
banks [are] not prepared to give
an extension of hardship once the
initial hardship variation granted for
3 months has expired, or decline
request for hardship variation
outright if the bank has already
granted a hardship variation in the
last year or two
Consistency
In general I would like to see a more straight forward request process, assessment
and positive outcome consistent with the 4 banks.
If hardship policies, contact details,
information required to process a
variation application change need to
notify FCA immediately… (presumably
so that FCA can advise the sector more
broadly)
3.7
Every dealing with these banks is
different. Unfortunately it depends
on the person you deal with. None
of them seem willing to offer a short
term moratorium whilst we initially
work with client to assess position.
Citibank and GE
Comments on Citibank were generally more negative than comments about GE.
Citibank do not understand what hardship is. I think they work to a script and
are unable to cope with anything that isn’t on their script. GE are one of the easiest
creditors to deal with, and if the client’s situation required hardship assistance, they
usually get it.
Citibank have good intentions, almost
never deliver. GE big improvement,
pragmatic will agree to waivers.
GE have been the best for 7 or 8 years.
Citibank were the worst but haven’t
contacted them for 5 months.
Common themes from respondent comments regarding Citibank, included lack of staff
knowledge on issues of hardship, poor communication and un-collaborative attitudes
towards working with financial counsellors. Common themes among comments on GE
were improvements in process and attitude of hardship staff as well as concerns over the
impacts of GE lending on customers.
Citibank do not listen, constant calls to repeat the same information when they
have being informed client has no capacity and receives Centrelink income, Citibank
forces many customers into stress and anxiety.
GE has [staff member name removed], what more can I say she accepts an honest
discussion about client’s capacity and understands the ridiculous lending practices
undertaken at point of sale transactions in stores.
24 RANK THE BANKS | 2013
GE have improved a lot over the
last couple of years and they seem
to sort things out with customers so
we don’t see too many GE problems.
On the other hand we have several
problems still with our local Harvey
Norman giving excessive GE credit
to people on long term Centrelink
benefits which then causes hardship
as they could never afford the
repayments.
3.8
Citibank spend the bulk of their time
hiding their hardship team and failing
to answer correspondence even when
issues are escalated to “specialised”
hardship staff. Client have no hope in
self-advocating as the generic staff
have received no training and have
no capacity to undertake complex
negotiations based on client provided
information.
Other Banks
Respondents were also given the opportunity to comment on some of the smaller
banks and their hardship policies and practices. The banks were AMP Bank, Bank of
Queensland, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, Bankwest, HSBC, ING Direct, Macquarie,
Members Equity Bank and Suncorp.
General comments from respondents on these selected smaller banks compared with
the ‘big four’ banks highlighted that when there was an issue of customer hardship,
respondents preferred to deal with the ‘big four’ banks over the selected smaller banks.
I prefer to work with the 4 banks than to work with the others no matter how bad
they are.
I think the BIG4 are much better than
Bank of Melb, HSBC and Citibank.
Some of these banks just don’t
care.
Overall the smaller banks don’t seem to have much idea of what a financial
counsellor is, what they do, or how it can benefit to them long term. They won’t
accept authorities, hard to find out financial hardship team/arrangements.
Some selected comments on specific banks are below:
Bank of Queensland
Bank of Queensland is difficult to
get an authority..difficult to work with
after and if you can. They do not seem
to recognise financial counsellors or
budgets from us.
Bank of Queensland wouldn’t even
accept my authority.
Bankwest
Bankwest only offer short term hardship. On some occasions Bankwest have sold
the debt and haven’t spoken with financial counsellor (even though) .. a request for
hardship was sent.
Bank West is difficult and sometimes rude.
25 RANK THE BANKS | 2013
Had a number of issues with
Bankwest, client’s not being adequately
assisted through initial hardship, which
has then led to further hardship. Also
the bank has made initial promises on
an arrangement and then reneged on
the arrangement over the phone, very
unprofessional, and this is workers
within upper management. Difficult
to contact, have complained to FOS
almost every time I have dealt with
them at this level. Initial hardship is
impossible to get resolution.
Bankwest needs to return calls
to financial counsellors - instead of
sending letters saying the application
has been declined due to insufficient
information. A phone call asking for
the information would be terrific.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank
Bendigo doesn’t understand financial
hardship. They have no meaningful
policy.
Bendigo bank just doesn’t listen,
co-operate or try to assist!
Bendigo Bank is hard to deal with full stop. Their mortgage help is aggressive and
they are more worried about the cost to the bank of a FOS dispute then resolving
anything.
HSBC
HSBC have the most difficult hardship department usually they will only provide
3 months only hardship and expect customers to resume full payment would like to
see HSBC introduce long term hardship if client have long term difficulties
HSBC is where GE was 4 years
ago, exhibiting distrust of customers
in hardship and onerous hardship
application process.
HSBC are excellent about getting
back to me within a couple of days
of hardship application. They have
generally accepted a long term (life
term) arrangement for those on
Centrelink.
HSBC advised that it was their policy to ask a person if they were eligible to
withdraw money from their superannuation account before they would consider
a waiver on their credit card account! The person had no assets and on DSP with
chronic health problems. They said that this was standard policy!
Macquarie, AMP, ING
Macquarie bank sometimes comes across as threatening and unprofessional.
We had a dealing with Macquarie
and they were into me like it was my
card, rude and horrible it felt like they
had lent their personal money directly
to the client.
26 RANK THE BANKS | 2013
Macquarie threatened my
customers and would not listen to
them. They also sold the customers
vehicle for far less than it was worth,
after promising the client they would
not do this, therefore only increasing
the client’s financial hardship.
Macquarie Leasing, sticking to: we do not have to grant hardship on a lease.
AMP/ Macquarie ING are most difficult to contact and get some feedback or
discussion happening. They hold FCs at arm’s length until the 11th hour and then
demand additional documents. ING demand that documents are posted to them
snail mail … I found that amazing for an internet bank.
Suncorp
Suncorp are very difficult to deal with—unable to answer basic questions and
continue to harass customers.
27 RANK THE BANKS | 2013
4
CONCLUSION AND NEXT STEPS
All of the State and Territory associations, as well as Financial Counselling Australia,
receive considerable and ongoing feedback from financial counsellors about how the
banks are responding to customers in hardship. Building on a similar 2012 survey of
Victorian financial counsellors, this is the first national survey however that captures
these experiences as a whole. Its significance is that it moves from anecdote to evidence,
providing a sounder and more robust snapshot about what is happening in the hardship
teams of the banking sector.
A key finding is that there are significant differences between the ‘big four’ banks when
it comes to assisting customers in hardship. Put simply, some banks are more responsive
and effective than others. This is clearly of concern as the way a bank responds to
customers in financial difficulty can make or break an individual’s or family’s path to
financial recovery.
Although some of the ‘big four’ banks rated more highly than others across all attributes,
no bank can rest on its laurels. While on aggregate these banks were seen as doing
well, it is clear from the ‘spread’ of responses to each question, as well as the qualitative
comments, that there is a lot of variability both within, and between, banks.
It is also worth noting that the ‘rank order’ for the ‘big four’ banks of NAB, ANZ, Westpac
and CBA was exactly the same for this 2013 national survey as it was for the 2012
Victorian-only survey of financial counsellors. The two surveys were around 18 months
apart and while we know the banks have continued to focus on their hardship responses
during this time, it is clear more needs to be done.
The result that is of particular concern relates to the smaller banks, including Citibank.
We are aware however that Citibank has recently embarked on significant reforms to its
hardship polices and practices and expect that these should be picked up in any future
surveys.
The financial counselling sector needs to engage more with some of the smaller banks,
as these results were very disappointing. Given the dominance of the ‘big four’ the sector
has tended to focus on them alone, but it is obviously now timely to proactively contact
and engage with these banks as well.
Given limited resources, financial counsellors can only assist a relatively small section of
the population. However in many ways, financial counsellors are ‘barometers’ of what
may be happening more broadly for the hardship customers of a given bank. For this
reason, we look forward to using the results of this survey in continuing to work with all
of the banks, both big and small, around improving hardship responses. This will assist
not only the clients of financial counsellors, but all bank customers who may be doing it
tough.
28 RANK THE BANKS | 2013
5
APPENDIX 1 - SURVEY INSTRUMENT
The survey tool
Which of the ‘big four’ banks – ANZ, CBA, NAB and Westpac – are the industry leaders
in terms of supporting customers in hardship, who is the most improved and who
is lagging behind? Based on your casework experience, the survey asks about your
experiences in dealing with the banks in terms of communication, processes and client
outcomes. There are also a couple of questions about some of the other, smaller banks.
The survey takes about 20 minutes to complete and is anonymous.
The survey is coordinated by Financial Counselling Australia in partnership with the
state and territory financial counselling associations. The survey builds on the success
of the FCRC Rank the Bank Survey 2012 which assessed Victorian financial counsellor
experience of the hardship policies of Australia’s ‘big four’ banks. FCA and the state and
territory financial counselling agencies will use the findings from this survey as a basis
for discussion with the banks about improving hardship approaches.
For queries or assistance completing this survey, please contact FCA on (07) 3004 6911
or via email: [email protected]
29 RANK THE BANKS | 2013
Rank the Bank National Survey 2013
Frequency of Contact
*1. When did you last contact each of the big four banks on behalf of a client?
Within the last Within the last Between 1 to 3 Between 3 to 6 week
month
months ago
months ago
ANZ
j
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j
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j
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j
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j
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j
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CBA
j
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j
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j
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j
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j
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j
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NAB
j
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j
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j
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Westpac
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j
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6 months ago
More than six months ago
*2. During the past 6 months, on average, how often have you contacted each of the
big four banks on behalf of a client?
Every couple of Not in the past 6 months
months
j
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n
j
k
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j
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j
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j
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j
k
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j
k
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j
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j
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j
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j
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j
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j
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j
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j
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j
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Every day
Weekly
Fortnightly
Monthly
ANZ
j
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n
j
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j
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CBA
j
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j
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n
NAB
j
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Westpac
j
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n
Rank the Bank National Survey 2013
Communication
The following questions focus on communication with each of the big four banks’ hardship teams. *1. First Contact
Please rank each of the big four banks on the initial ease of getting through to the
hardship department.
Very poor
Poor
Acceptable
Good
Very good
Not sure
ANZ
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j
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j
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j
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CBA
j
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j
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j
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j
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j
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NAB
j
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j
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j
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j
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j
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j
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Westpac
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j
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j
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j
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j
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j
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*2. Quality of Subsequent Contact
Following initial contact, please rate each of the big four banks on the quality of their
subsequent communication.
You might like to consider factors such as reliability of returned calls, responses within 21 days for hardship requests (as required by the National Credit Code) or if agreements are confirmed in writing.
Very poor
Poor
Acceptable
Good
Very good
Not sure
ANZ
j
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n
j
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j
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j
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j
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j
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CBA
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j
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j
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j
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NAB
j
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j
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j
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j
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j
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j
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Westpac
j
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j
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j
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j
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j
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j
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*3. Letters of Authority
Please rate each of the big four banks in terms of their willingness to accept your
authority as a financial counsellor to advocate on behalf of your client.
Think of length of time it takes or ease with which each bank processes a letter of authority.
Very poor
Poor
Acceptable
Good
Very good
Not sure
ANZ
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j
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j
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j
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j
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CBA
j
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j
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j
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j
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j
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j
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NAB
j
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j
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j
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j
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j
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j
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Westpac
j
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j
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j
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j
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j
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j
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n
Rank the Bank National Survey 2013
Process and Attitude
The following questions address issues surrounding the relationship between bank hardship teams, clients and financial counsellors. *1. Attitude toward Client
Please rate each of the big four banks in terms of their general attitude towards clients
in hardship.
You might like to consider factors such as the empathy of the hardship team, if their attitude is helpful or unhelpful and whether clients are listened to.
Very poor
Poor
Acceptable
Good
Very good
Not sure
ANZ
j
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m
n
j
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j
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j
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j
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j
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CBA
j
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j
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j
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j
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j
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j
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NAB
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j
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j
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j
k
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j
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j
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Westpac
j
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j
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j
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j
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j
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j
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*2. Attitude toward Financial Counsellors
Please rate each of the big four banks in terms of their general attitude towards you as
a financial counsellor.
Very poor
Poor
Acceptable
Good
Very good
Not sure
ANZ
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
CBA
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
NAB
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
Westpac
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
Rank the Bank National Survey 2013
Client Outcomes
The following questions focus on outcomes for clients. *1. Affordability
On balance, are the initial repayment arrangements offered by the big four banks
affordable?
Never
Sometimes
Often
Always
Not Sure
ANZ
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
CBA
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
NAB
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
Westpac
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
*2. Fair, Reasonable and Appropriate Outcomes
On balance, do the final hardship arrangements offered by the big four banks result in
fair, reasonable and appropriate outcomes for clients?
Never
Sometimes
Often
Always
Not sure
ANZ
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
CBA
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
NAB
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
Westpac
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
*3. Long Term Hardship
For this question, we define clients in long term hardship as those that are not going to
be able to get back on top of their financial situation in the foreseeable future.
Please rate each of the big four banks as to whether they have an adequate
understanding of the impact of long­term hardship on clients.
Poor
Acceptable
Good
Very good
Not sure
ANZ
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
CBA
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
NAB
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
Westpac
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
Rank the Bank National Survey 2013
*4. Consistency
How confident are you that clients in similar circumstances are provided with
substantially consistent arrangements?
None of the time
Some of the time
Most of the time
All of the time
Not sure
ANZ
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
CBA
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
NAB
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
Westpac
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
*5. Escalation to FOS
What percentage of your bank hardship clients have you escalated to FOS in the last
six months, because you were unable to negotiate an appropriate arrangement for your
client?
None (0%)
Less than 10%
10%­30%
More than 30%
Not sure
ANZ
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
CBA
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
NAB
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
Westpac
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
*6. Self­advocacy
In general, do each of the big four banks make the same hardship options available for
self­advocating customers as the options available for clients when a financial
counsellor is involved?
Never
Not often
Sometimes
Mostly
Always
Not sure
ANZ
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
CBA
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
NAB
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
Westpac
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
Rank the Bank National Survey 2013
Overall Rating for the Big Four Banks
*1. Overall Rank
In light of your previous answers, please rank each of the big four banks out of 10 in
terms of their hardship policies and practices.
1 being the lowest ranking and 10 being the highest ranking.
Lowest 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Highest 10
ANZ
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
CBA
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
NAB
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
Westpac
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
2. Best Performing Bank
Which of the big four banks do you think is the best performer in terms of customer
hardship and why?
Best performing bank
ANZ
j
k
l
m
n
CBA
j
k
l
m
n
NAB
j
k
l
m
n
Westpac
j
k
l
m
n
Not sure
j
k
l
m
n
Optional: Please comment on why this bank is the best performer? 3. Worst Performing Bank
Which of the big four banks do you feel is the lowest performer in terms of customer
hardship and why?
Lowest performing bank
ANZ
j
k
l
m
n
CBA
j
k
l
m
n
NAB
j
k
l
m
n
Westpac
j
k
l
m
n
Not sure
j
k
l
m
n
Optional: Please comment Rank the Bank National Survey 2013
4. Improvements
Which of the big four banks has most improved their hardship policies and practices in
the past 6 months and how have they improved?
Most improved
ANZ
j
k
l
m
n
CBA
j
k
l
m
n
NAB
j
k
l
m
n
Westpac
j
k
l
m
n
Not sure
j
k
l
m
n
Optional: Please comment on how this bank has improved? 5. Please make any further comments on any of the big four banks in regard to
communication, processes or client outcomes. Please state which bank or banks you
are commenting on.
5
6 Rank the Bank National Survey 2013
Other Lenders
We are also keen to hear about your experiences in dealing with some other lenders, including Citibank and GE. For the sake of completeness, there is also one question about other banks. *1. Overall, how do Citibank and GE compare to the big four banks in relation to
assisting customers in hardship?
Much worse than the Worse than the big About the same as Better than the big Much better than the Not sure
big four
four
the big four
four
big four
Citibank
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
GE
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
*2. Please rank Citibank and GE out of 10 in terms of their hardship policies and
practices.
1 being the lowest ranking and 10 being the highest ranking.
Lowest 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Highest 10
Citibank
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
GE
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
Optional: Please provide any comments about Citibank and GE hardship policies and practices. 5
6
3. This is an optional question to give you an opportunity to also comment on some of
the smaller banks and their hardship policies and practices. Only provide a rating for a
bank if you have had some interaction with them in the past six months. Again use the
rating scale of 1 ­ 10, where 1 is the lowest rating and 10 is the highest rating.
Lowest 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Highest 10
AMP Bank
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
Bank of Queensland
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
Bendigo and Adelaide j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
Bankwest
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
HSBC
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
ING Direct
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
Macquarie
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
Members Equity Bank
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
Suncorp
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
j
k
l
m
n
Bank
Optional: comments 5
6
Rank the Bank National Survey 2013
About You
1. How many years have you worked in financial counselling?
j 0­3 years
k
l
m
n
j 4­9 years
k
l
m
n
j 10+ years
k
l
m
n
2. In which state or territory do you most work?
j ACT
k
l
m
n
j NSW
k
l
m
n
j NT
k
l
m
n
j QLD
k
l
m
n
j SA
k
l
m
n
j Tas
k
l
m
n
3. Do you most work in a metro or regional/rural area?
j Metro
k
l
m
n
Thanks for taking time to Rank the Banks!
Press the DONE button below to submit your survey answers j Regional/rural
k
l
m
n
j Vic
k
l
m
n
j WA
k
l
m
n