By Stuart Washington
COMMONWEALTH Bank customers have kicked their bank's chief executive, Ralph Norris, where it hurts: in his pay packet.
A customer satisfaction survey shows Commonwealth Bank bore the brunt of customer outrage when it was first to move interest rates higher than the Reserve Bank's move on Melbourne Cup day in November.
With his remuneration package linked to customer satisfaction ratings, it could be an expensive survey for Mr Norris.
Roy Morgan Research found that Commonwealth Bank home loan customers' satisfaction rates fell to their lowest in five years in November and December, outstripping the falls of its three major competitors.
Commonwealth Bank was widely criticised for lifting home loan interest rates 0.45 percentage points on Melbourne Cup day. Other banks delayed their increases after the strong reaction.
Commonwealth Bank's home loan customer satisfaction ratings for November and December fell 17.4 percentage points from the October level.
ANZ fell 8.2 percentage points over the same period, Westpac fell 7.6 percentage points, and National Australia Bank fell 0.6 percentage points.
Commonwealth Bank's slippage overshadowed NAB's troubles with its computer system in November, which made it the biggest one-month loser in overall customer satisfaction rankings among the big four. The result pushed Commonwealth Bank from second to third in overall customer satisfaction rankings among the big four, and puts the bank below satisfaction ratings it received six months previously.
ANZ was first in the rankings, followed by Westpac, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank.
Priorities for Mr Norris if he wants to take home his full pay package include increasing customer satisfaction rankings as shown in Roy Morgan figures over the bank's financial year.
Roy Morgan spokesman Norman Morris noted Westpac was yet to return to its November 2009 home loan customer satisfaction level following its ''banana smoothie'' rate rise of the same month.
Ingrid Just, a spokeswoman for consumer group Choice, said customers were showing an increased willingness to act on dissatisfaction with banks, citing tens of thousands of responses to a Choice campaign for better banking services.
''We had an incredible response to our 'compare, ditch and switch' campaign,'' she said. ''That just goes to show how dissatisfied people are and how they are prepared to act on that dissatisfaction.''
A spokesman for Commonwealth Bank said it was important to note that the bank had improved its customer satisfaction levels in recent years and it would continue to focus on this area.