Customer Satisfaction With DTCC: 91% for Fourth Year

by Helen Cunningham

Customers gave DTCC a 91% overall satisfaction rating in 2009 for the fourth consecutive year. In addition, according to results from the annual customer survey, the number of respondents who are “extremely satisfied” with DTCC increased over 2008.

The high level of satisfaction is attributable to factors including DTCC's integrity, commitment to quality, effectiveness in reducing risk, reliability, technology and transaction-processing capabilities, according to data from the respondents. Customers also noted a decline in problem incidence combined with increased satisfaction in how DTCC resolves their problems.

“Customers understand that in a challenging industry landscape, DTCC's steadfast support for the industry is something they can rely on,” said William Aimetti, DTCC president and COO. “We are here to mitigate risk, to deliver quality products backed by high levels of service and reliability, and to continually develop solutions that further cut our customers' cost of doing business.”

To fulfill its mandate, DTCC leverages the knowledge and experience gained from its deployment of quality programs such as Six Sigma, Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) and Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL). “We have rigorous quality standards across the organization, which benefit the industry by bringing accountability, best practices and metrics to all aspects of our business,” Aimetti said.

From the source

Here are comments from some of the customers who participated in the 2009 survey, describing why they are satisfied with DTCC.

• There aren't many other vendors where the value goes up and the costs go down – it's hard to top that.
• DTCC stays on top of industry issues. It has sound programming and is always looking toward the future.
• DTCC has a very responsive team that listens to its user community and is extremely flexible.
  
• DTCC's support and services are very accurate, very efficient with respect to cost and quality. It is also good on the follow-up if you have any problems.
• DTCC is responsive to our needs and is forward-looking in terms of opportunities to expand its services.
• DTCC has the reputation of being able to pull a wide range of key participants together to create an industry-wide solution.

Industry benchmarks

DTCC's ratings compare favorably within the financial services industry. “Benchmarking DTCC against the industry average for 14 comparative metrics, DTCC exceeded the industry average for all 14 metrics,” according to the Melior Group, the independent marketing research and consulting firm that conducts DTCC's annual survey. Last year, DTCC exceeded the industry average for 13 out of 14 metrics.

Customer dialogue

The annual survey is one of DTCC's primary tools for obtaining metrics to monitor customer satisfaction. It establishes a baseline for the ongoing dialogue with customers that enables DTCC to anticipate and meet the industry's needs.

“The survey gives us a wealth of data about customer perceptions of DTCC, from the general to the specific, which we use to guide ongoing management, the allocation of resources and future product development,” said Andrew Gray, DTCC managing director, Core Product Strategy and Management. “The survey also gives customers a vehicle to raise any concerns they may have with DTCC, articulate their priorities and identify emerging needs.”

The fact that an independent third party conducts the survey on behalf of DTCC serves an important purpose, according to Gray. “While we get a lot of information from the day-to-day dialogue we maintain with clients, it is also essential to obtain information that objectively quantifies how we are doing and gives us a view of what else we should be doing,” he said.

To ensure appropriate action on the feedback from customers, DTCC's survey process includes a thorough analysis of the scores and customer comments. Then, respective teams develop metrics-driven action plans to address customer concerns in their areas of the business.

Key 'relationship attributes'

For the 12 key “relationship attributes” evaluated in the 2009 survey, customers expressed the highest satisfaction with integrity (93%), a ranking that has been consistent for five consecutive years.

“During a very challenging time for the industry, DTCC's reputation for integrity and reliability was on full display,” said Gray. “Our customers trust DTCC not only to deliver cost-effective, reliable solutions that reduce risk and bolster their bottom lines, but also to take a leadership role on industry issues.”

Satisfaction ratings for other key relationship attributes were similar to 2008, including:

• Commitment to quality: 90%
• Industry leadership: 86%
• Communications with customers: 84%

Focus on risk

The market turmoil of the past year put a spotlight on DTCC's risk-management capabilities. Overall satisfaction for this category remained strong at 86% (up 1 point from last year). The big change came in the proportion of customers “extremely satisfied” with DTCC's risk management, which nearly doubled in 2009, reaching 34% vs. 19% in 2008.

The survey also underscored that customers expect risk management to be their biggest concern in the coming years – and many look to DTCC to play an important role in managing risk across the industry. “We would like DTCC to make sure everyone is looking at risk,” said one customer. In fact, DTCC is broadening its oversight of risk.

“The commitment to continually review and strengthen our risk management infrastructure is not new at DTCC, but the Lehman Brothers' collapse provoked a fundamental shift in how we think about risk,” said Aimetti. “Today, DTCC is expanding its focus beyond the management of risk for individual members to encompass risk at the systemic level, fulfilling our responsibility to support the safe and sound operation of the industry's infrastructure.”

Cost concerns persist

In 2009, scores for DTCC's ability to lower customers' processing costs declined to 72% from 77% in 2008. In the related category of helping customers understand its pricing strategies, DTCC received a satisfaction score of 68% vs. 74% last year.

“Cost continues to be at the forefront of every customer's agenda and these scores send a clear message that firms are looking to DTCC for additional cost relief – both in terms of our pricing, as well as taking on initiatives that reduce their cost,” said Paula Arthus, DTCC managing director, Relationship Management.

“Another takeaway from this year's survey is that we need to continue to focus on communicating both our general pricing to customers, as well the customer-specific impact,” Arthus added. “Overall it's a very good story, as DTCC has supported significant volume growth over the last five years, with largely flat cost levels. We are also keenly aware that customers are looking for greater transparency on a regular basis, and we will continue to drive toward that goal. We will be implementing a new billing system in 2010, which will provide the base for improved reporting and MIS for customers.”

More communications

Customers gave DTCC an 84% satisfaction rating for overall communications. “Customers are generally satisfied with various communications vehicles used by DTCC to keep them informed,” according to the Melior Group.

Still, many customers wish to hear more from DTCC, particularly about issues such as problem resolution and costs. “Increase communication regarding cost reduction and efficiencies based on bill/activity,” said one customer. “[More] communication related to outage management – for both infrastructure and applications,” said another. A third suggested DTCC broaden its outreach. “Increase communication with our operations groups beyond the head of operations.”

“Communications that are timely, informative, concise and clear are hallmarks of good customer service,” said Arthus. “In the coming year, we will remain focused on meeting customer expectations on this front.”

Products and services

In 2009, DTCC received an 86% rating for the breadth of its product/service line (vs. 88% in 2008).

Ratings for specific products vary, with the majority posting gains over last year's numbers. Scores range from 100% for Insurance & Retirement Services; 100% for Corporate, Municipal and Unit Investment Trust (UIT) Real-Time Trade Matching Services; 98% for Settlement-Related Services; 96% for Equity Clearance; 95% for Securities Processing Services; 93% for Mutual Fund Services; and 92% for Government Securities, to 79% for Tax Services.

One customer summed up satisfaction with DTCC this way: “Without DTCC, it would be nearly impossible to efficiently and effectively run our business. While not perfect, DTCC continues to strive for the highest levels of customer satisfaction.”

Looking forward

In addition to evaluating DTCC's performance for the past year, the annual satisfaction survey sets the stage for DTCC to look at new ways to add value to customers. Looking forward is particularly important during this time of change for the industry.

“We are focused on how financial reform will impact customers and how we can help them meet the new requirements in a timely and cost-efficient manner,” Gray said. “We also are acutely aware that customers are looking for ways to increase efficiencies; we will look for opportunities to centralize and automate additional processes, expand into new asset classes and extend our global reach, all of which reduce the industry's costs while facilitating the growth of volume.” @