OREANDA-NEWS. September 22, 2008. As a next step in their evolution, the Hansabanka Group in the Baltics is adopting a single Swedbank brand – the name of a financial leader in Northern Europe and the Baltics. Swedbank’s ambition and challenge is to become the outstanding service leader in Europe, reported the press-centre of Swedbank.

Over the coming months, the name of Hansabanka will gradually be changed to Swedbank. The single Swedbank brand implementation process will be completed in autumn 2009. 

“This is a special moment in the history of Hansabanka – we are entering a new stage of development. With the Swedbank name, we will build a cross-border organization with a higher competitive capacity in Europe. By combining the best expertise and experience, we will be able to offer our clients new-level products and services.

Our most important goal is to become the leader of outstanding service - now on a European scale. Under a single – Swedbank – brand this goal will be faster and more efficient to achieve”, emphasises Mr Maris Avotins, the CEO of Swedbank in Latvia. 

Swedbank – service leader in Europe.
“Hansabanka has achieved a very high customer satisfaction rate – we currently in the top third of European banks. Swedbank’s challenge is more ambitious – the most satisfied clients in Europe. We are confident that the name of Swedbank will give us the capacity to provide an even higher-level services to our clients in Latvia and to increase the bank’s competitive strength at European scale more efficiently” underlines Ms Oksana Sivokobilska, the Head of Retail Banking Division and Member of the Board of Swedbank in Latvia.

According to the Latvian Customer Service Index research by TNS, the banking and automotive industries boast the higher customer service quality. According to this index, which assesses customer service and sales skills in companies representing various industries, in general, customer service is rated as very good – the average indicator is 3.2 points on the scale from 1 (poor) to 4 (outstanding).

The service index is very high for banking and automotive industries - 3.6 points. Yet, Hansabanka’s Latvian Customer Service Index is even higher – 3.7 points. That is the highest ranking among all industries covered by the research.

In the previous year for the same period from July to August, for the banking industry the index was at 3.5, and automotive – at 3.4. During the last year, there has been an improvement in customer service area, and service and sales skills were rated higher.

Customer satisfaction research
According to TNS’s customer satisfaction research , or so-called TRIM index, which reflects customer satisfaction and retention, Hansabanka’s index outperforms the figures of other Latvian banks. The TRIM index covers clients’ overall assessment of the bank’s activities, the possibility of repeat purchases, recommendation, as well as competitive capacity.

Hansabanka in Latvia had 75 points, which should be regarded as a very high customer satisfaction and retention figure. For comparison, Europe’s average customer satisfaction index in retail financial services stands at 68 points.

Customers’ reply to the satisfaction question carries the most weight in the figure: overall, 57% of regular users of Hansabanka admitted that they are “fully” or “very” satisfied with the bank. Slightly over 2/3 (67%) of clients would “certainly” or “very likely” recommend Hansabanka to their friends or relatives. 80% of Hansabanka’s clients will “certainly” or “very likely” continue to use Hansabanka’s services at the same extent as now. Compared with Europe, three out of four indicators are higher for Hansabanka, however, European banks still have higher competitiveness indicators.

“We believe that Hansabanka’s and Swedbank’s experiences, resources and best practices combined with the single Swedbank brand gives us a strong foundation to demonstrate European-wide service leadership”, says Ms Oksana Sivokobilska.

About the single brand implementation process
The single brand implementation process will be made as smooth as possible for the bank’s clients and cooperation partners - the transition will be gradual and transparent. In the coming months, the Swedbank logo will be put on signboards at the branches and on the website of the bank.

The legal names of the bank and its affiliates will be changed in spring 2009. It means that until then all contracts will be made with Hansabanka or its affiliates. All agreements made with Hansabanka or its affiliates will also continue in force after the change of the legal names.  The brand implementation process will be completed in autumn 2009.  “Customer satisfaction with the bank’s service is our first priority, therefore, we have decided to carry out the rebranding gradually within a year,” Mr Maris Avotins explains the rebranding process.

New names will also be used in public space for the bank’s affiliates (as mentioned before, the names will legally be changed in spring 2009).