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Least trusted financial companies revealed

Emma Lunn
Jul 22nd 2010 at 5:00AM

Filed under: Budgeting & Planning

Nationwide has been voted the UK's 'most trusted' financial services company, followed by the Co-operative Bank and Barclays. At the other end of the scale Northern Rock and Admiral came out bottom of the survey.

However, the survey found that financial service companies struggle to gain consumers' trust and that retailers are more trusted.

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The survey was commissioned marketing agents Baber Smith and examined trust in the retail and financial services sectors

15% of consumers voted Nationwide as one of their top three most trustworthy financial services companies. 12% voted for the Co-operative Bank and 10% for Barclays (10%). Just 1% trusted Northern Rock and Admiral Insurance.

The survey paints a rather bleak picture for many financial services companies, with a worrying lack of trust amongst consumers. Out of the 20 companies listed, 12 score a trustworthy rating of 5% or less, including Aviva (5%), Tesco Finance (4%) and M&S Money (4%). Furthermore, Baber Smith's research found that there's a strong correlation between trust and actual usage, with consumers very reluctant to trust financial services companies they don't use.

For the second year in a row Baber Smith's survey revealed that M&S is the Britain's most trusted retailer with 39% of consumers voting it as one of their top three most trustworthy retailers. John Lewis (26%) and Boots (23%) complete the top three in the trustworthy stakes.

Sam Jordan, managing director of Baber Smith, says: "What's striking about the findings of this research is how so few consumers seem to trust financial services companies, even with ones they trust to look after their own money. Since trust is strongly linked with actual usage, the challenge brands face in this sector is how to encourage consumers to change their financial services provider in the first place?"

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