National Bank Discount Brokerage: offers best customer service

Among the largest companies specializing in discount brokerage services for Quebec investors, National Bank Discount Brokerage is the one that offers its customers the best service over the telephone. Those were the results of a recent study by the prestigious research firm Dalbar, whose objective was to rate discount brokerage firms based on a certain number of criteria with respect to service offered to customers over the telephone.

The study, conducted between February 29 and April 27, 2001, measured the quality of telephone service offered by the six main discount brokerage firms in Quebec. National Bank Discount Brokerage ranked first for the main criteria measured: brokers' diligence in responding to clients' requests, their helpfulness and professionalism, their initiative in suggesting options that would be to the client's advantage, and the knowledge and confidence expressed in their answers to clients.

"In the field of discount brokerage, the telephone plays a crucial role," explained Yves G. Breton, President of National Bank Discount Brokerage. "Clients carry out their stock market transactions either by telephone, through a representative or directly on the Internet. Even when they trade on the Net, however, they want to be able to have access to a representative when they need one. Knowing that they're dealing with the best telephone service in the industry is sure to make our clients even more confident in doing business with us."

Dalbar is a research firm that specializes in the area of financial services. The company measures financial institutions' performance in several areas, such as customer satisfaction, quality of service and effective communications.

National Bank of Canada is an integrated group whose mission is to provide comprehensive financial services to consumers, small and medium-sized enterprises and large corporations in its core market, while offering specialized services to its clients elsewhere in the world. The National Bank offers a full array of banking services, including all the investment banking services required by large corporations. It is an active player on international capital markets and, through its subsidiaries, is involved in securities brokerage, insurance and wealth management as well as mutual fund and retirement plan management. The National Bank has assets of over $76 billion and, together with its subsidiaries, it employs some 16,700 people. The Bank's shares are listed on The Toronto Stock Exchange.