- Banking is the fourth most trusted industry out of 17 studied. The Tory government fourth last, only beating social media, the media and superannuation funds.
- Study conducted amidst the COVID-19 suggests banks’ public efforts are paying off but Boris Johnson’s initial response was unsupported.
- Nationwide is a head and shoulders above all 26 competitors, claiming the title of most trusted bank, most satisfied customers and most likely for customers to recommend.
22 April 2020 – In the midst of the COVID-19 global crisis, the UK banking industry stands strong in the eyes of the public ranking fourth most trusted consumer industry, with Nationwide the unrivalled top performer, in a new national industry trust study conducted by tech research platform and data house, Glow.
The study is the first of its kind in the UK and second globally, the United Kingdom Banking Brand and Trust Index (UKBBTX) collects data on key perception-based metrics, brand awareness, customer satisfaction, public trust and likelihood to recommend based on a representative sample of the population across industries and 26 UK banks. The index is to be released quarterly.
Public Efforts ‘Paying’ Off
Promises to lend cash, scrap dividends and holiday mortgage repayments could be the secret to the industry’s high reputation for trust as the study was conducted when everyone was looking to banks for financial relief. Department stores (29), electronic stores (27) and manufactures (28) only industries scoring ahead of banking, with social media platforms (-10) and the media worst performers. Bad news also for the Tory party, with the current elected government ranking fourth last (14).
A (Nation) Wide Victory
Despite recently withdrawing plans to compete for a piece of the business loans market share, Nationwide has something to celebrate finishing 12 points higher on Glow’s Net Trust Score calculation than all competitors bar Halifax, who received a score of 25 only 7 points behind the leader (32). The victorious second tier bank also beat out competitors in satisfaction ratings, with a score of 90, followed by Tesco Bank (88) and Sainsbury’s Bank (84).
Banking Trust Leaderboard
| INDUSTRY | 24 | #4 |
| Nationwide | 32 | #1 |
| Halifax | 25 | #2 |
| NatWest | 20 | #3 |
| Coutts & Co | 20 | #4 |
| Lloyds TSB | 20 | #5 |
| HSBC | 20 | #6 |
| Sainsbury’s Bank | 19 | #7 |
| Cheltenham & Gloucester | 19 | #8 |
| Yorkshire Bank | 18 | #9 |
| Tesco Bank | 18 | #10 |
“In this time of crisis, catastrophe and change, how both individual businesses and entire industries respond is pivotal to their public perception and in turn their future success. This data is a time capsule and a benchmark of the first responses to COVID-19 by key industries and the shifts that follow in future editions of the report will tell a story of this time.” Says Neil Gupta, UK MD at Glow.
He continues, “Traditionally proclaimed as ‘The Bad Guys’, the banking industry’s rank of fourth most trusted is a big win. Sadly, the findings aren’t as positive for the traditional ‘voice of the people’, the Government, with Boris Johnson and the Tory’s poor results in trust.”
On the individual company rankings, the market research expert says, “Nationwide’s stand out performance ranking 12 or more points higher than all other competitors bar one is a strong message to competitors and consumers alike.”
