Daiwa Securities has been working to provide customers with high-quality consulting services based on a deep understanding of customer needs to increase the value of customer assets on a medium- to long-term. It has been measuring NPS® (Net Promoter Score) as an in-house indicator for measuring customer satisfaction.
The score measures the degree of customer recommendation and is considered to correlate closely with business performance. We position it as one of our most important management indicators.
When introducing NPS®, we implemented sales reforms successively at individual branches to ensure that the aim of the introduction is well understood and established among employees. We will further step up our efforts to carry out sales activities from the customer perspective. At the same time, we will build a scheme for implementing a PDCA cycle to improve NPS® for "Maximizing the value of customer assets."

• *NPS® is a registered trademark of Bain & Company, Fred Reichheld and Satmetrix Systems.

Daiwa Securities strives to provide in-branch services that can satisfy any customer.
With the aim of creating sales branches enabling elderly customers and customers with disabilities to feel secure, we have placed employees with service assistant^* certifications, mostly comprising employees engaged in in-house customer service.
Moreover, in order to ensure that our sales branches are accessible to more customers, we implement a range of barrier-free measures, including reduced variations in floor level, the installation of automatic doors and larger counters, and the placement of cane holders at all counters.
We have also been stepping up our efforts to enhance safety and convenience for elderly customers and customers with disabilities visiting our sales branches. As part of such efforts, we place and make ready for use writing communication boards, communication sheets, cane holders, hearing assistance devices, and other equipment.

1. *Service assistant
   A service assistant is a person certified as having acquired hospitality and safe assistant skills for providing tailored support for elderly customers and customers with disabilities.

Daiwa Securities has placed Anshin (peace of mind) Planners and Inheritance Consultants as an initiative to provide each one of our elderly customers with optimum consulting and solutions.
Anshin Planners are mainly responsible for elderly customers, providing comprehensive consulting for customers in their later years. The scope of the Planners' work is not limited to asset management but includes the provision of information on health, long-term care, etc. and solutions in relation to gifts, inheritance, etc. to next generations.
Inheritance Consultants are professional staff members appointed from among employees with CFP® certifications who have highly specialized knowledge of inheritance and gifts.
We work to provide optimum support to every customer we serve by subdividing our services according to the life stage of each customer and making careful proposals.
In addition to these initiatives, we are focusing on an Inheritance Planner Certification® in order to further develop inheritance and business succession professionals. An Inheritance Planner Certification® is granted to candidates selected from among employees with CFP® certifications after they undergo certification training designed to help them acquire a deeper knowledge of inheritance and business succession. It is an in-house credential at Daiwa Securities.

• *CFP® is a financial planner credential certified by the Japan Association for Financial Planners. A CFP® holder has specialized knowledge of asset management, taxation, etc.

Employees at the Contact Center, which serves as our comprehensive remote contact point, have direct contact with customers and play an increasingly crucial role not only as a transaction channel but also in customer support and marketing. In order to maintain and improve contact center operations to meet the demand for high-quality service, we provide training and regular level checks for all Telephone Service Representatives (TSR). We thus strive to appropriately respond to customers' true needs.

Daiwa Securities' Customer Support Center is a department at the head office that handles customer feedback and complaints directly by phone. It is set up within Compliance Department 1 of Daiwa Securities.
The Center promptly gives feedback and complaints from customers to relevant sales branches and departments and sections of the head office. It also sorts and analyzes such feedback and complaints, shares them with officers, sales branches, and head office departments and sections, and capitalizes on them as precious information in the aim of "customer-first operations" and "pursuit of best quality."
To respond to customers' calls thoroughly, accurately, and promptly, Customer Support Center members work to improve the quality of their customer services.

Inquiries and Complaints Received at the Customer Support Center in FY2023

• Number of calls received: 5,892 calls (up 1,040 calls)
  Inquiries: 89%
  Complaints: 11%
• Based on customer feedback, we have made a number of improvements. For example, we have simplified documents we ask customers to fill in. We have also revised product information on our website to make such information easier to understand.