Nationwide remains the UK’s most trusted bank brand, according to this quarter’s edition of the Banking Brand and Trust Index published by tech research platform, Glow.

The study found that while confidence in the banking industry has stayed steady throughout the COVID-19 crisis, it also revealed an increasing lack of trust in Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party, whose ranking has plummeted. 

The Trust Index surveys the views of UK citizens and tracks consumer confidence in the banking industry and its trustworthiness in relation to 16 other sectors and government departments. Overall, consumer trust in most UK banks has remained largely unchanged during COVID, with respected building societies like Nationwide and Halifax remaining strong at the top of the rankings, while The Royal Bank of Scotland continues to perform poorly.

The study, established to monitor the shifts in public perception of individual bank brands and the banking industry, has instead highlighted diminishing trust in the elected Government and government departments, which have seen their Trust Scores reduce by 10 and 12 points respectively. 

Neil Gupta, Glow’s UK Managing Director, said: “The UK banks are upholding their reputation and public confidence is the first true test since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis.”

He continued, “Glow’s data shows the banking industry has only felt a minor dip in confidence — a testament to the resilience of their reputations built over the last 12 years.”

“It’s pleasing to see consumers have maintained, even slightly uplifted, their attitudes towards department stores and electronics manufacturers.” Neil said, “but concerning that confidence in the Government and its departments has taken a big downturn.”   

A similar study in Australia found trust in its government improved by 10 points, despite extreme lockdown restrictions, while the UK reopens. 

This study uses a unique methodology to rank trust relative to competitors, awarding each bank a Net Trust Score of between -100 and +100.

Nationwide, with a Trust Score of 31, remains the UK’s most trusted bank brand, with a five point lead on all competitors. Halifax, Lloyds, Natwest and Tesco make up the remainder of the top five, scoring 24, 21, 21 and 19 respectively. Barclays ranks 8th and scored 18, and HSBC ranks 10th and scored 17. TSB sits outside of the top 10, scoring 15. The Royal Bank of Scotland, the UK’s worst performing brand, decreases further from 8 to 5. 

How the banks compare

Ranking	Bank	August NTS	April NTS	Difference
1	Nationwide	31	32	(-1)
2	Halifax	24	25	(-1)
3	Lloyds Bank	21	20	(+1)
4	NatWest	21	21	–
5	Tesco Bank	19	18	(+1)
6	Barclays Bank	18	17	(+1)
7	The Co-Operative Bank	17	17	–
8	HSBC Bank	17	20	(-3)
9	Santander UK	16	18	(-2)
10	Yorkshire Bank	16	18	(-2)
11	TSB Bank	15	13	(+2)
12	Metro Bank	13	12	(+1)
13	Clydesdale Bank	11	13	(-2)
14	Virgin Money	9	12	(-3)
15	Bank of Scotland	9	11	(-2)
16	The Royal Bank of Scotland	5	8	(-3)

Industry rankings

Ranking	Industry	August NTS	April NTS	Difference
1	Department Stores	30	29	(+1)
2	Electronics manufactures	29	28	(+1)
3	Electronics stores	27	27	NA
4	Telecommunications providers	22	21	(+1)
5	Banks	22	24	(-2)
6	Internet search engines	21	22	(-1)
7	Automotive manufactures	21	23	(-2)
8	Airlines	18	22	(-4)
9	Alcoholic drink manufactures	18	18	NA
10	Private health insurance providers	18	19	(-1)
11	Liquor retailers	18	17	(-1)
12	Fast food outlets	17	15	(-2)
13	Superannuation funds	13	12	(-1)
14	Governmental departments	7	19	(-12)
15	Elected government	4	14	(-10)
16	Media	-6	1	(-7)
17	Social media platforms	-13	-10	(-3)