Charismatic

The more I use banks other than my usual the more I love my bank. When did this queuing thing start and being pushed into filling out a half hour survey on a plastic bag to get a deposit done? I don't care if you have a coffee machine and I don't want to be marketed a million products every time I walk into a branch.

Don't ask me about becoming a customer when you have wasted my time standing in a slow moving queue. The main thing I want as a customer is prompt and professional service from an actual real human, everything else that doesn't make or save me money is a gimmick.

My 2012 list, in order of most goodness first:
ANZ - Good rates, lots of tellers for fast service and I always see a familiar face. They just do what a bank should do and seem very competitive on all fronts.
NZCU - Ditto but doesn't have as many branches/ATM machines.
National Bank - Much like ANZ but service isn't as quick and they have this strange glass cube system before they let you into the bank. Very good rural services.
WestPac - Good mortgages and their back office (securities, investment etc.) division is run by HSBC. Service is too sales orientated.
BNZ - Slow service and always trying to sell you financial products you don't want or need.
ASB - Doesn't even call itself a bank any more (quite correctly), suffers from BNZ syndrome. Epitomises everything you don't want in a bank and they seem to turn over their staff weekly.

I've missed PSIS because I've never had much experience of them, perhaps someone else can inform us about the service? Make your own lists as well if you'd like .

Justcol

Funny that, I prefer ASB, very helpful, very friendly, excellent business advisers, in and out in minutes....tip top in my book...two thumbs up

jmh

I hardly ever go into a bank, I internet bank through Kiwibank - pretty happy with the process.

sparkie down under

kiwibank for me
local +1
money stays here + 2
heaps of 'em + 3
good internet banking + 4
can do my banking and send stuff home at the same time + 5

crap for getting a mortgage - 1
crap on business banking - 2

Bo-Jangles

Do you make exceptions for the 1970s style approach to Bonus Bonds. OMG what a palaver, in recent years I have never known anything quite so painful and convoluted to join.

Go to ANZ get a form fill it in, take it to branch who log you in the system and print you out a little booklet. They take six attempts at printing the booklet and get all the staff involved, because they can't figure out how to line up the special printer in the right place on the card and each time they get it the wrong way up, up side down or printed wonkily.

When they're eventually happy that all is good and they have a reasonably legible booklet they have to then hand write in the details from your Drivers Licence, whilst the sighing queue behind you builds to fever pitch.

You go home register on-line and enter all your details again and the numbers you need from the card to become Bonus Bond holder. From ths registration process, you get a once in a lifetime opportunity to print a PDF form with your bank direct debit details on, (if your printer stuffs up the PDF is lost and gone forever and you have to start again). You then have to sign and return the printed form in the post to Bonus Bonds in Dunedin or to an ANZ branch.

You rock up at the local ANZ again; wait again whilst teller punches all your details, checks your ID again and writes the numbers down on the printed form and then authorises you to be a Bonus Bond holder. You can then go home and actually buy some Bonus Bonds online.

Charismatic

I don't even know what a bonus bond is (sounds like a game show!) but I want one now.

Interesting comments regarding ASB, maybe their service is better at other branches?

Good call on Kiwibank, I forgot them. Are their branches open Saturdays yet?

chocolate cake

Only problem with Kiwibank, is that should you need them, with them being post offices there's always a queue.

Useful feedback above, as thinking of changing banks from BNZ.

sparkie down under

Not always - but I take your point

theghostofdustybin

Personally, I wouldn't go near them again. Made me open accounts I didn't need and then had the cheek to charge me to make mortgage payments back to them. They didn't even sound sypathetic when I was made redundant, before telling me that they couldn't / wouldn't help with short term changes to my loan. They even tried to charge me to take my own money out when i closed the account.

I dont have a bank anymore, and if you are after a mortgage I'd seriously have a look at these fellas http://www.nzhomeloans.co.nz/

Charismatic

Sound rubbish dusty, as mentioned above I hate banks that try to sell you into products you don't want or need .

It's interesting that New Zealand is dominated by the Australian brands (except NZCU and KiwiBank), I wonder if one of the big European banks might have a dip now their European growth is slowing? HSBC already have a few branches in Wellington and Auckland.

chocolate cake

I can't see too many European Banks showing interest, in relative terms the market is small. I think Lloyds Bank used to own National Bank - hence the logo