Private banking consumer perception and the influence of acquisition

Abstract

The primary aim of this dissertation is to research the private banking consumer perception and to analyse the impact acquisition in private banking has or might have on private banking consumer perception. A literature review discovered that existing research in the field of private banking consumer perception is relatively rare and no studies were discovered that dealt with private banking consumer perception and, in particular, the influence of an acquisition. In addition to that, private banking consumer perception is not defined by any literature. Hence, there is a gap in existing literature and the literature review resulted in research questions which were analysed and discussed by gathering primary data. A holistic case study based on the Swiss and German private banking market was used to gather primary data. This type of case study offers the researcher a holistic view(Patton, 1990) on the present subject as it considers all parties which have an influence on the topic under investigation. The first phase of the case study consisted of nonparticipant observation at a finance fair. Private banking consumers, relationship managers and consultants were observed. In the next phase semi-structured interviews were undertaken with relationship managers, banking managers, private banking clients and lawyers. Both phases were qualitative in its nature. Based on the findings it was established that private banking consumers have expectations on private banking. If the private banking service provider is able to fulfil or exceed these expectations the client perceives this as "satisfaction". Determinants of private banking consumer perception were elicited. These determinants are defined as categories and sub-categories of different criteria used by the consumer to evaluate a perceived service. Apart from that, the research findings revealed that acquisition can influence all private banking consumer perception determinants depending on the context of the acquisition. The independent advice of private banks as well as retaining the relationship manager was found to be of primary concern to the clients during an acquisition process. A model of private banking consumer perception was developed from the primary data results. With the knowledge gained from this research private banks are better able to understand bank consumers’ expectations and perceptions. This contributes to higher levels of competitiveness for banks as customers’ needs can be better met, and client movements during an acquisition process reduced