Chase Bank leads in customer service even as it posts 48% in profit

Chase bank is one the best in customer service and client engagement as compared to other banking institutions, a poll conducted on social media has revealed.

In a survey conducted on Twitter (#TwitterPoll) for the whole of March 19, majority of those who responded indicated that they were satisfied with Chase Bank’s quick action on issues raised by clients and the general public. This comes hot on the heels after the bank announced its impressive growth of 48% in profit after tax.

According to a statement posted on its website, the banking institution said its performance recorded another year of impressive growth in Net Profit to KES2.4Bn compared to KES1.6Bn in 2013 reflecting a 48% year on year growth in profitability.

Total Operating Income rose 48% to KES10Bn underpinned by notable growth in both Interest and Non-Interest Income. The sustained growth in Loans and Advances saw the Bank’s Net Interest Income rise to KES7.2Bn which is a 40% growth over a similar period in 2013. Over the period in consideration, Non-Interest Income recorded an outstanding 74% growth to KES2.8Bn, said the statement attributed to the Bank’s Chief Executive Officer Paul Njaga.

Mr Njaga is quoted as having said that the Bank recorded a 39% growth in Total Assets at the end of the financial year in 2014 to KES109Bn compared to a similar period in 2013. He said this was supported by a 38% growth in Net Loans and Advances to KES57Bn.

Mr. Njaga said, “The bank is committed to continue providing its customers with credit solutions that are suited to their needs. The Bank recorded an impressive 50% growth in Customer Deposits to Kes.80Bn over the same period.”

Customer service

Co-operative Bank and Credit Bank were said to be the worst in customer relations both online and conventional. Standard Chartered Bank got a wobbly mention among those with good customer service.

Diamond Trust Bank featured among those that have best customer care as well as NIC. Jubilee Insurance, Resolution Insurance and Kenya Orient Insurance Limited were voted as the best in customer service.

Innovation

Transnational Bank led in the category of those that have least innovation of their products.  Cooperative Bank also featured prominently among those that have least innovation for their products. First Community Bank made its debut under this category with most people saying they had poor product innovation.

Chase Bank and KCB almost tied in product innovation that appeals to clientele with KCB boasting of outdoor activity sponsorships like its Rugby team that has a large following across the country.

Charges

Equity Bank was preferred by low earning citizens who participated in the polls by offering Overdraft services via ATM which are however capped at a maximum of KES 10,000.

National Bank got a mention as one that has exorbitant charges for its products.

KCB and NIC were voted as the best in asset finance.

Online presence

A check on the official twitter handle of Standard Chartered Bank, revealed that the last tweet had been made a day earlier at 7:30pm on Thursday and at most, two tweets per day for a whole month.

Chase Bank’s twitter handle had posted about 57 tweets by 7:30pm same day with many other re-tweets and engagement with clients. A survey through websites and micro-blogging sites (Twitter and Facebook), Chase Bank had a large presence on Twitter while KCB had a relatively larger number of likes on Facebook.

Cut- throat competition

KCB was preferred by clients especially those in SMEs besides corporates. Co-operative Bank has leverage as it boasts of interesting corporates which have accounts with it but the bank failed in offering their clientele more products and lagged behind in engaging its client base.

Even though Equity Bank was not featured in the online poll, it is one of the most vibrant on social media with a variety of products that interest its clients.

Like KCB, Equity Bank has a vast of innovative products that have kept clients trooping to its doors with KCB having partnered with Safaricom to offer loans to M-Pesa agents while Equity has its Wings To Fly education sponsorship programme that has been running for some time now.

Innovative products

For Chase Bank, it has molded its products to fit its diverse pool of clients. For instance, it has the Mfukoni App that allows customers access and even create bank accounts at the comfort of their smartphones and enjoy online banking with at ease.

Among other innovative products, corroborated with efficient customer service, Chase Bank recorded an impressive growth in all its financial metrics for the financial year ending December 31, 2014.

According to the Bank’s Chief Executive Officer Paul Njaga: “This was supported by a stable macro-economic environment, continued focus on the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) segment of the bank and improved customer service.”

Mr Njaga acknowledged technological advancement merits saying: ‘’We continue to see rapid growth in usage of our alternate service delivery channels and self-service platforms as customers opt for convenience through our reliable mobile banking “Mfukoni” offering as well as our internet banking solutions” in a statement posted on the bank’s website.

“Our growing branch presence and agency network have also contributed immensely to our good financial performance noting the significant increase in customer numbers to close to 140,000 from 50,000 in at the close of 2013,’’ he added.