Forbes fans Aussie mutual banks

John Kavanagh

Australian mutual banks matter enough for them to pop up in Forbes magazine’s World’s Best Banks 2020 Survey.

Forbes commissioned research company Statista to survey 40,000 consumers around the world, asking them for their opinions about their current and former banking relationships.

Among the big banks, ANZ, NAB and Commonwealth Bank are included (as well as the CBA subsidiary Bankwest). While Westpac is not included, its subsidiaries St George Bank and Bank of Melbourne are.

Among the small financial institutions, Heritage Bank, Bank Australia, Newcastle Permanent Building Society, IMB Bank and ING Bank top the list. Banks were rated on “general satisfaction and key attributes like trust, fees, digital services and financial advice”.

Forbes says: “Digital and mobile technologies are revolutionising the global banking market and it’s a matter of adapt or die for the world’s biggest lenders and the up-and-comers looking to supplant them.

“Customers around the world want and expect the ability to check balances, cash checks [sic] and apply for loans with just a few easy clicks.”

Customer Owned Banking Association chief executive Michael Lawrence said the results of the survey demonstrated the value of the customer owned model.