Fairness and responsibility may not be the first things you associate with the banking sector in the current climate. However, associations may be about to change. On 21 November, our client, the Fairbanking Foundation, released its 2013 ratings report ‘Reaching for the Stars’. The report rates financial products based on the extent to which they help customers achieve their financial goals. This is the third Fairbanking ratings report, following those issued in 2010 and 2011. Z/Yen has assisted Fairbanking with research for the 2011 and 2013 reports. This year’s report is based on a survey conducted by Z/Yen between July and September 2013. We assisted with the development of questionnaires for five core banking products, hosted an online site to allow easy access to the questionnaires and invited banking institutions to participate in the survey. We also conducted a comprehensive programme of contact and follow-up which resulted in an overall response rate of 58%, which included five of the top six banks.

The team was led by Therese Kieve, with support from our enthusiastic intern, Cody Provence, and Michael. In contrast to the 2010 report when results were disappointing, and the 2011 report which showed just marginal improvement, ‘Reaching for the Stars’ shows significant product improvement from a variety of institutions. For the first time, two of the UK’s peer-to-peer lenders – Zopa and Ratesetter – were factored into the review, and both topped the 4 Star mark in the personal loans category. There has also been improvement in the high street banks; at the launch ceremony, RBS/ NatWest were awarded the first ever 5 Star Fairbanking Mark for their ‘Instant Saver with Your Savings Goals’ product. An impressive achievement that we hope will encourage real change in the industry.