HDFC Bank ranked No. 1 in India by Forbes; Surprise at No. 3; SBI not in top 10

Once again HDFC Bank has added another feather in its cap. This time the private lender has been identified as number 1 bank by customers in India, as per Forbes World's Best Bank survey. In the first edition of this survey, Forbes partnered with market research firm Statista to measure the best banks in 23 countries. HDFC Bank emerged as India’s No 1 bank. It was a unique survey as it did not measure financial performance, ignoring balance sheets and P&L statements in favour of customer opinion. 

Customers were asked to rate banks on overall recommendation and satisfaction, as well as 5 key attributes or ‘sub-dimensions’namely trusts, terms & conditions, customer services, digital services and financial advice. 

“We are extremely humbled to be ranked No. 1 by the customers,” said  Aditya Puri, HDFC Bank MD. “Our customer has always been at the heart of everything we do since we set out to create a ‘World-Class Indian Bank 25 years ago. On behalf of all my colleagues, I would like to thank each and every customer for reposing their trust in us through the years.”

HDFC Bank has been at the forefront in leveraging technology to give its 43 million customers a superior banking experience.

Apart from HDFC Bank, it was another private-owned lender ICICI Bank which took the second spot in Forbes list for India. At third rank was DBS, followed by Kotak Mahindra Bank and IDFC Bank taking fourth and fifth spot. 

Banks like Syndicate Bank, PNB, Allahabad Bank, Vijaya Bank and Axis Bank were also in top 10. 

Interestingly, the largest state-owned lender SBI did not even make it to top 10 of Forbes list. The bank was ranked 11th by customers. 

It was Canara Bank ranked at 30th spot last  by customers. 

Statista surveyed more than 40,000 customers around the globe for their opinions on their current and former banking relationships. Between 5 and 60 banks were identified as top banks in each country, based on the total evaluations collected, the number of banks in the specific country and the scores achieved.