High customer service "crucial" in competitive banking industry

Banks must keep up a high level of service as it is easier than ever for customers to take their business elsewhere, according to a leading industry body.

With competition between banks increasing, feedback on how their customer service is performing is "crucial" to making customers stay loyal to the bank, the British Bankers` Association (BBA) has claimed.

Brian Capon, a spokesman for the BBA, said that while the Banking Code outlines basic customer service procedures, many banks need to go further than the fundamentals to keep hold of customers.

Mr Capon added: "Customers might highlight they want a service in a particular way and banks are going to take that on board and look at the feasibility of whatever it is customers are asking for."

A global study by technology consultant Booz Allen earlier this year found customers still prefer banking in branches – with 63 per cent choosing to use a branch for purchasing current and savings account products.