According to research undertaken by Roy Morgan Research, Westpac (ASX: WBC) was regarded as the top bank in regards to business banking, despite scoring third position behind Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA) and NAB (ASX: NAB) in consumer banking.
Westpac rated a high advocacy level of 50.2% when it came to business banking rating for the six-month period to May 2013, which was a significantly higher score than CBA's 44.8% and NAB and ANZ's (ASX: ANZ) 40.4%. The high advocacy level is a good indicator of how likely business customers would be to recommend the bank to other businesses.
On the other hand, the bank scores a 49.6% high advocacy level for consumer banking, placing it behind CBA and NAB which scored 50.2% and 51.6%, respectively.
Foolish takeaway
Whilst Westpac has lost 0.7% of its market share in the mortgage market due to it maintaining a higher lending rate compared to its competitors, its high results on the survey are pleasing, as they reflect customer service and satisfaction.
From an investing perspective, although customer satisfaction is indicative of a strong and popular business, Westpac – like the other big banks – has become too expensive over the last 12 months to be worthy of a place in your portfolio. Although it offers high yields and could give good returns over coming weeks or months, it is very unlikely to deliver market-beating results in the long-term.
Instead, why not consider our #1 dividend-paying stock? Discover The Motley Fool's favourite income idea for 2013-2014 in our brand-new, FREE research report, including a full investment analysis! Simply click here for your FREE copy of "The Motley Fool's Top Dividend Stock for 2013-2014."
More reading
- Macquarie moves into the sun
- Westpac up on outperform rating
- Why aren't more consumers switching banks?
Motley Fool contributor Ryan Newman does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this article.
