SINGAPORE - Maybank Singapore has come out tops in the annual Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore, the bank said in a statement on Wednesday (March 30).

This is the first time Maybank has ranked first in the index, ahead of the local banks and a huge leap from its seventh place ranking last year.

The index is produced by the Institute of Service Excellence (ISES) at Singapore Management University.

Maybank said its improved performance was the result of a two-year "customer experience transformation journey".

Said Mr Allen Ng, deputy chief executive of Maybank Singapore: "It is very heartening to see our efforts bear fruit. Whilst we have worked hard to improve our digital channels to provide greater convenience to customers, we also placed great emphasis on our face-to-face interactions with customers, which is sometimes a scarcity in today's digital world. So when we do get these opportunities to serve our customers in person, our goal is to ensure that we delight them with our service."

In the last two years, the bank has also rolled out a monitoring system to track customer experience indicators, with the results tracked monthly at the bank's Customer Experience and Service Innovation Council chaired by their chief executive.

Mr Ng said: "I am very proud of our staff for believing in our commitment to customer satisfaction and exemplifying it in their everyday roles. This award is testament to all their hard work and steadfastness in upholding our mission to humanise financial services through delivering excellent customer experience."