The Bank of Queensland has unseated perennial leader St George bank in the latest East & Partners' monthly Business Banking Sentiment Index, which surveys customers' feeling of empathy and loyalty.
The result for May 2008 shows that BOQ customers have the greatest positive feeling towards their bank compared with customers of any bank in the business banking market.
The BBSI also takes a comprehensive look at the customers' feelings of satisfaction and advocacy towards their main bank.
Bank of Queensland achieved an overall sentiment score of 60.9 out of a possible 100. St George's score was down to 59.5 in May, which is the third consecutive decrease for the bank.
While St George has been at the top of this rating since the inception of the BBSI report in June 2006, strong long term gains by Bank of Queensland and a drop in the sentiment shown by St George customers over the past three months, have brought about the change in market leader.
East & Partners' financial markets analyst, Peter Drennan, said "The latest results clearly show the ongoing effort that Bank of Queensland is putting into the relationships with its business banking customers."
"This has developed into relationships where customers are loyal to their bank and are more willing to tell other businesses about their experience", he added.
Of the other banks in this segment only NAB and HSBC achieve a sentiment score above the market average of 42.3, with scores of 54.6 and 57.6 respectively. The total market sentiment of businesses with turnover $1 to 100 million was down slightly this month from 42.4.
While St George has slipped from top spot overall, the bank still holds the top position in two factors. St George customers are the most satisfied and have the greatest amount of empathy towards their bank.
