DETERMINANTS OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN RETAIL BANKING: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM JAPANESE BANK CUSTOMERS

2024-07-02T16:23:17+00:00

As a consumer-oriented service industry, the quality of customer service provided by banks and their customers' overall satisfaction with their services are becoming increasingly important. This study examines the factors influencing customer satisfaction with banking services provided by Japanese regional banks. Using data from the Japan Financial Institution Customer Ratings METER® of about 200,000 cases, we estimated the factors affecting customer satisfaction using an ordered probit model. The results indicate a positive correlation between direct financial services from regional banks and customer satisfaction. This relationship is solid when customers hold investment-related products. Additionally, we observed that individual customer satisfaction tends to decline with increasing financial asset holdings and increase as customers become more financially literate. Furthermore, we noticed that customer satisfaction tends to be higher for females than males, younger people than the elderly, and occupied customers than for unoccupied customers. The findings of this study suggest that customers may be more attracted to regional banks that provide investment information and advice tailored to their circumstances. It may be beneficial for regional banks to understand better factors that influence customer satisfaction, such as the age and gender of their customers, their level of financial Literacy, and the amount of financial assets they have. It would be beneficial for regional banks to consider these factors and enhance the quality of their direct interactions with customers and the customer service provided by their staff and call centers. This could help regional banks build long-term, ongoing relationships with their customers.

JEL Classification Codes: G2, G20, G21.

EVALUATING FINANCIAL SYNERGY IN BANK MERGER: RANKING MERGER OPTIONS AND ANALYZING INFLUENTIAL FACTORS

2024-07-04T12:34:12+00:00

Given the excess number of banks, the Central Bank of Bangladesh recently saw mergers as a good solution for economic development in an emerging economy like Bangladesh. Still, the question remained: which bank should merge with whom to create value, known as financial synergy? The study investigates which mergers add value to financial synergy and which do not. Additionally, the study scrutinizes the financial factors that influence the financial synergies resulting from the mergers of the participating banks. This study employs fifty-five possible cases of mergers found in eleven banks, including government, non-government, and specialized banks, to conduct financial synergy valuations on the average of five years of financial information. The methodology employs simulation, sensitivity, trend, scenario, Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), and Mixed Effect Generalized Linear Model (MEGLM) to solve the research questions. The results reveal that mergers between BKB and RAKUB, EXIM and Padma, NBL, and UCB can result in positive financial synergy among the six cases proposed by the central bank. The results also show that financial factors including debt to capital, reinvestment rate, return on capital, cost of debt, and revenues significantly impact the financial synergy. The findings of the study suggest the central bank merge based on the ranking provided in the study, considering the influential factors in mergers among banks. These findings contribute to the existing field of study by optimizing the synergy valuation strategies for bank mergers in a complex environment of bank types.

JEL Classification Codes: G34, G32, C51, G21.

Asian Finance & Banking Review

DETERMINANTS OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN RETAIL BANKING: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM JAPANESE BANK CUSTOMERS

EVALUATING FINANCIAL SYNERGY IN BANK MERGER: RANKING MERGER OPTIONS AND ANALYZING INFLUENTIAL FACTORS