Abstract:

This paper discusses a large research project conducted to investigate factors impacting on the relationship between banks and their business clients in Australia. A survey was conducted during February - March 1999 with 276 executives and financial managers on their firms relationship with banks. Factor and regression analyses were used to identify the underlying factors of close and long-lasting relationships between banks and their business customers. The insight gained through the data analysis guided the process of model building using a structural equation modelling techniques. The model shows that the measure of trust is crucial to understanding bank-business customer relationship.