Empathy and experience key to SBS Bank's success

SBS Bank was last night named Financial Institution of the Year in the second annual Roy Morgan Research customer satisfaction awards.

It was the second time the Invercargill-based bank had been named the top financial institution, something chief executive Ross Smith put down to empathy from staff towards their customers.

The bank spent time on personal development for staff members, and worked hard in placing the right people in the right roles.

''Hopefully, we get it right most of the time. It's the southern way of doing things. It is getting the culture right.''

SBS was up against some of the big names in New Zealand, including major New Zealand banks, insurance companies and finance companies.

Because SBS did not have a nationwide presence, Mr Smith said it was important staff made the right decisions when people called.

''One bad remark sees us tumble down the list.''

Asked if there were still improvements to be made, Mr Smith said there was always something that could be improved.

The finance market was competitive and SBS had to make the most of its opportunities to ensure it performed at the highest level.

The bank continued to look for growth opportunities throughout New Zealand but there was nothing on the books at present, he said.

''The market is slow and everyone is scrapping over whatever is out there. The lack of demand for mortgage business means that when one comes up, everyone scraps for it.''

SBS monitored interest rate movements carefully and it was always difficult to know how low to go, Mr Smith said. SBS did not want to offer new customers better deals than those available to existing clients. At the same time, competitors continued to offer incentives for customers to shift across.

''It's a challenging market,'' he said.

The awards were announced in Auckland. Some businesses returned for a second consecutive award along with SBS.

They were Kiwibank as the major bank of the year, Subway as the quick service restaurant of the year, Kirkcaldie and Stains as department store of the year, Suzuki as car manufacturer of the year, 2degrees as mobile phone service provider of the year and Paradise as the home internet service provider of the year.

Apple's iPhone retained the top spot for mobile phone handset customer satisfaction but was likely to be challenged this year by Samsung.