QUALITY of service and the helpfulness of staff are top of the list of what small businesses want from their banks, a survey showed this week.
The study for NatWest of 1,000 small and medium-sized businesses found 90 per cent felt their banks now provided them with a wider range of services than five years ago, while only eight per cent did not.
About 70 per cent felt banks and building societies were trying harder to gain their custom than they were five years ago. Eighty-one per cent said lower charges were important when it came to picking their bank.
And nine out of ten said their bank provided them with a dedicated business manager - and 81 per cent were satisfied with him or her.
A total of 40 per cent said banks were important information providers on issues such as the euro and changes to legislation, although the media was the more important source of such information, at 47 per cent. Less than a quarter used the government for advice in dealing with such issues.
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