What makes a bank the best? The big four have been asking this for years.
Recently the ANZ (ASX: ANZ) said it spent more than $750,000 on sending 75 staff members and their partners on trips to Disneyland. This comes as business customers voted down the ANZ in terms of customer satisfaction, leaving it marginally ahead of the National Australia Bank (ASX: NAB) on a DBM survey released earlier this week.
ANZ has pledged more than $1 billion to business start-ups over the next year but last month's results aren't surprising given that is has repeatedly taken its time to cut interest rates despite the NAB, CBA (ASX: CBA) and Westpac (ASX: WBC) all cutting theirs. The news of cushy workplace rewards comes days after the banking behemoth announced a $1.53 billion three month profit.
High flying rewards are nothing new to the ANZ. A year ago The Daily Telegraph revealed ANZ had taken 200 staff on a luxury cruise to Malaysia's Langkawi Islands and just days earlier axed 1,000 jobs from the same employee program. People who work really hard get rewarded, but one wonders how hard you have to work.
The Commonwealth Bank is renowned for keeping jobs onshore, whereas the ANZ's track record is not so good. Companies need happy employees for happy customers. Without taking care of the right people it will be hard to retain customers and build long-lasting, profitable relationships with clients.
Foolish takeaway
ANZ still needs to impress local customers whilst exploring possible growth opportunities throughout the world. Currently, the Australian market represents 68.2% of revenue for the banking and financial giant whereas Asian markets represent only 16%.
Conversely, both Westpac and CBA have realised share price gains higher than the ANZ in the past 12 months and Australian customers account for 90.2% and 88.6% of revenue respectively. There is no doubt Asian economies will be the power players this century and ANZ wants to capitalise on the rise of it. However, first, it must not forget to take care of the clients who got it this far.
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The Motley Fool's purpose is to help the world invest, better. Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, The Motley Fool's free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson. Motley Fool contributor Owen Raszkiewicz owns shares in ANZ.
