Of the major Australian banks, St. George has consistently earned the highest scores in customer satisfaction surveys. The most recent surveys, for the year just ended June 2009, have been no different, and St. George Bank even padded its lead.

For customer satisfaction, St. George scored 76.6%, a gain of 1.4% from previous years and more than four percentage points higher than the average of all the major banks. For consumer advocacy, their score jumped 3.9% and stayed 6.6% higher than the majors’ average.

St. George Bank has also been rated highly amongst its peers by industry associations, consumer groups, and publications. Some of the awards St. George has received include Money magazine’s “Home Lender of the Year,” the AFR Smart Investor “Bank of the Year,” and “Best Customer Contact Center” from The World.

St. George maintains a staff of 5,700 in more than 400 branches. Their nearly 3,000 ATMs across the country charge no fees to their banking customers.

The bank is also active in communities. Their sponsorships include the St. Kilda Saints Football Club, the St. George Melbourne Marathon, and the St. George District (Sydney) Cricket Club.

Source: au.pfinance.yahoo.com