Handelsbanken has been voted the clear winner when it comes to what SMEs think is the best business bank account.
The Swedish bank, which has more than 200 UK branches, came top of the leader board in four out of five categories, according to the latest Competition and Markets Authority survey published this month.
The bank was named best for overall service quality (79 per cent); relationship/account management (86 per cent); SME overdraft and loan services (78 per cent); and services in branches and business centres (73 per cent) for the fifth time by the survey.
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However, Barclays beat it to the top spot for online and mobile banking services.
BVA BDRC surveyed nearly 17,000 small business customers between July 2019 and June 2020, asking them if they would recommend their provider to other SMEs.
Mikael Sorensen, UK CEO of Handelsbanken, said: “We are particularly pleased to see this response coming from our SME customers, many of whom we have been working closely with to provide a range of tailored, flexible support.”
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Overall service quality – Handelsbanken
Handelsbanken was ranked first for overall service quality (79 per cent), beating Metro Bank into second place (67 per cent) and Santander third place (63 per cent). Royal Bank of Scotland tied with Allied Irish Bank for joint 13th place.
Overall service quality
| Overall service quality | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| # | Bank | % | |
| 1 | Handelsbanken | 79 | |
| 2 | Metro Bank | 67 | |
| 3 | Santander | 63 | |
| 4 | Barclays | 59 | |
| 5 | Lloyds Bank | 55 | |
| 6= | Natwest | 54 | |
| 6= | Yorkshire Bank | 54 | |
| 8= | Clydesdale Bank | 52 | |
| 8= | HSBC UK | 52 | |
| 10 | Bank of Scotland | 51 | |
| 11 | The Co-Operative Bank | 50 | |
| 12 | TSB | 47 | |
| 13= | AIB | 45 | |
| 13= | The Royal Bank of Scotland | 45 | |
| Source: BVA BDRC |
Online and mobile banking services – Barclays
This was the only category where Handelsbanken was not the most recommended bank by SMEs to others. Barclays came top at 73 per cent, followed by Metro Bank (72 per cent) and with Santander, NatWest and Lloyds tying for third ranked (69 per cent). The Co-Operative Bank was judged to have the least user friendly mobile and online banking service.
Online and mobile banking services
| Online and mobile banking services | ||
|---|---|---|
| # | Bank | % |
| 1 | Barclays | 73 |
| 2 | Metro | 72 |
| 3= | Santander | 69 |
| 3= | NatWest | 69 |
| 3= | Lloyds | 69 |
| 6 | Bank of Scotland | 65 |
| 7= | Royal Bank of Scotland | 63 |
| 7= | HSBC UK | 63 |
| 9= | Handelsbanken | 62 |
| 9= | Yorkshire Bank | 62 |
| 11 | Clydesdale Bank | 57 |
| 12 | TSB | 52 |
| 13 | AIB | 44 |
| 14 | The Co-Operative Bank | 41 |
| Source: BVA BDRC |
Relationship and account management – Handelsbanken
Handelsbanken was again the clear winner when it came to relationship and account management (86 per cent) followed by Santander (66 per cent) and Metro Bank (63 per cent). Royal Bank of Scotland was again ranked bottom in 14th place (48 per cent).
Relationship and account management
| Relationship and account management | ||
|---|---|---|
| # | Bank | % |
| 1 | Handelsbanken | 86 |
| 2 | Santander | 66 |
| 3 | Metro Bank | 63 |
| 4 | Barclays | 59 |
| 5 | Yorkshire Bank | 58 |
| 6 | NatWest | 57 |
| 6 | Clydesdale Bank | 57 |
| 8 | Lloyds Bank | 56 |
| 8 | AIB | 56 |
| 10 | TSB | 53 |
| 11 | HSBC UK | 52 |
| 12 | Bank of Scotland | 50 |
| 13 | The Co-Operative Bank | 49 |
| 14 | The Royal Bank of Scotland | 48 |
| Source: BVA BDRC |
SME overdraft and loan – Handelsbanken
When it comes to arranging small business overdrafts and loan facilities, Handelsbanken was far and away the highest-recommended bank by SMEs to their peers, scoring 78 per cent compared with 65 per cent for second-ranked Yorkshire Bank and 63 per cent for Santander.
SME overdraft and loan
| SME overdraft and loan services | ||
|---|---|---|
| # | Bank | % |
| 1 | Handelsbanken | 78 |
| 2 | Yorkshire Bank | 65 |
| 3 | Santander | 63 |
| 4 | Barclays | 61 |
| 4 | HSBC UK | 61 |
| 6 | Clydesdale Bank | 59 |
| 7 | Lloyds Bank | 58 |
| 7 | NatWest | 58 |
| 9 | AIB | 53 |
| 10 | Royal Bank of Scotland | 52 |
| 11 | Bank of Scotland | 51 |
| 11 | TSB | 51 |
| Source: BVA BDRC |
Service in branches – Handelsbanken
Handelsbanken squeaked to first place at 73 per cent, although Metro Bank – known for its grand banking foyers – was just behind at 72 per cent. Lloyds Bank was some way behind in third place at 61 per cent.
Service in branches
| Service in branches and business centres | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Handelsbanken | 73 | |
| 2 | Metro Bank | 72 | |
| 3 | Lloyds Bank | 61 | |
| 4 | TSB | 58 | |
| 5 | Yorkshire Bank | 55 | |
| 5 | Clydesdale Bank | 55 | |
| 7 | Santander | 54 | |
| 7 | Bank of Scotland | 54 | |
| 8 | HSBC UK | 53 | |
| 9 | Barclays | 52 | |
| 11 | NatWest | 50 | |
| 12 | The Co-Operative Bank | 47 | |
| 13 | Royal Bank of Scotland | 40 | |
| 14 | AIB | 38 | |
| Source: BVA BDRC |
Further reading
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