Regional bank takeovers unsettle business customers

Small business customers of St George and Bank of Western Australia may be pretty cranky over the forthcoming takeover of their lender by Westpac and Commonwealth Bank respectively.

Research by East & Partners suggests many plan to look to shift their business away from a big four bank, even though their options are narrowing.

East estimates that CBA/BankWest will hold 24.4 per cent of primary transaction banking relationships with small to medium business customers following the takeover and market leadership.

Westpac/St George will hold 22.9 per cent, ranked third.

NAB ranks second with 23.3 per cent of relationships and ANZ holds only 10.6 per cent of relationships.

East has found that St George customers are increasingly frustrated at the imminent change of bank.

Paul Dowling, principal analyst with East, said that a survey more than two months ago found that 60 per cent of St George business customers described the Westpac takeover as having a negative impact on their relationship with St George. He said around 60 per cent of the 60 per cent would look to change banks in the next 12 months, with about half of those looking to other regional banks.

A follow up survey last week found that the percentage of disgruntled customers increased to 80 per cent, with 60 per cent of that group still looking to shift banks.