CISI Poll Reveals Two-Thirds Of Financial Services Professionals Mistrust Banking Industry

Wendy Spires

7 August 2012

It seems that the prevailing ill-feeling towards banking sector has spilled over to financial services professionals themselves, with a new study revealing that 69 per cent of financial services professionals have little or no trust in the UK banking industry.

More shockingly still, the poll - carried out by the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment – found that 25 per cent had “zero confidence in banks”. Only 2 per cent said that the banking sector is totally trustworthy.

Looking further into the nuances of respondents’ feelings towards the banking sector, 43 per cent said they have little trust in it, 21 per cent have reasonable trust in it and 9 per cent have significant level of trust.

“Banker bashing” has of course become a widespread practice all over the world since the cataclysmic events of the 2008 financial crisis and all the scandals and frauds which were uncovered in its aftermath. Moreover, this summer in particular has been marked by several huge “bad news stories” concerning the misconduct of banks.

Barclays was recently hit by a £290 million regulatory fine over LIBOR rate rigging and other banks are also expected to become embroiled in the affair. Meanwhile, HSBC expects to be hit by fines amounting to $700 million stemming from anti-money laundering failings that have been exposed by a US investigation. Just this morning Standard Chartered came out to defend itself against claims by US authorities that it had laundered billions for the regime in Iran.