Finance, Banking the Least-Trusted Industries, Survey Finds
ECONOMICS, 28 Jan 2013
Andrew Tangel – Los Angeles Times
Financial services and banks were the least-trusted industries last year, according to a public relations firm’s annual survey.
Only 46% of U.S. respondents said they trusted the financial services industry, and only 41% said they trusted banks in 2012, according to PR agency Edelman’s annual survey of consumers’ trust.
That’s still an improvement, however. The perception of the financial and banking industries improved from 2011, when only 25% of U.S. respondents found them trustworthy, Edelman said. That year, those industries edged out the media, which only 22% of respondents said they trusted.
It’s been five years since the financial crisis, but major banks nonetheless kept serving up scandals in 2012.
Last year, the public learned of widespread rigging of benchmark interest rates that are tied to just about every type of financial product, including mortgages and swaps. The scandal involving the manipulation of the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate, or Libor, continues to unfold.
Some major banks’ reputations were also tarnished by government accusations that they essentially became money-laundering conduits for terrorists and drug cartels, or violated U.S. sanctions by doing business with rogue states like Iran.
And many institutions continue to get hammered by government lawsuits and settlements stemming from the mortgage meltdown and ensuing financial crisis.
The 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer had more than 30,000 online respondents around the world, the agency said.
Copyright © 2013, Los Angeles Times
DISCLAIMER: The statements, views and opinions expressed in pieces republished here are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of TMS. In accordance with title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. TMS has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is TMS endorsed or sponsored by the originator. “GO TO ORIGINAL” links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the “GO TO ORIGINAL” links. This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.