CUSTOMERS at a giant-killing ‘challenger’ bank have rated its service best among British banks for the sixth year running.

The customer satisfaction accolade for Handelsbanken comes as its Bradford branch continues to grow overall lending and deposits by more than 15 per cent a year, along with its profitability.

Andy Lowther, Bradford branch manager, who heads a seven-strong team with 200 years combined banking experience, said its growing number of business and personal customers liked to deal with a bank whose decision makers are based locally.

“Our customers like the thing that makes us different – the fact that people here have the ability and authority to make decisions locally rather than everything being referred elsewhere.

“All branch staff have full power to advise customers and agree individual product terms and pricing, free from targets or bonus incentives.

“We’re delighted to see that in Bradford and right across the UK, people and businesses continue to choose Handelsbanken’s very personal and traditional way of delivering top quality banking services.” said Andy, who joined the bank last year after many years with NatWest.

The Bradford branch at Hope Park Business Centre, near the M606 motorway, whose staff has increased by one this year to meet growing demand, is part of a 180-strong UK network built up by the Swedish bank in recent years, including other local branches in Ilkley and Halifax.

Handelsbanken has been rated top for customer satisfaction for the sixth year running in an independent survey of British banks’ personal and business customers by EPSI.

An EPSI spokesman said the 143-year-old locally-focused bank has been found to “far exceed” its British banking competitors for both customer satisfaction and loyalty. It reflects Handelsbanken’s rating in Sweden since surveys began in 1989.

The bank has maintained its top customer satisfaction position while adding another 20 UK branches this year.

Handelsbanken has also published a financial update for the third quarter of 2014 showing that its UK household lending rose by 24 per cent to £4.1 billion in the last 12 months. It also extended net lending to UK businesses by a further seven per cent, to £9.1 billion.

The bank said its strong capital and liquidity positions and low credit loss ratios had earned it one of the highest credit ratings of any international bank. Handelsbanken was recently judged the strongest bank in Europe and one of the strongest in the world by financial information provider Bloomberg.

It operates more than 820 branchesin 24 countries. The UK represents its fastest-growing market.