Consumers remain upbeat

PA 136/09 Despite the global recession and the crisis in the banking sector, consumer confidence in financial services remains intact, according to a report compiled for the Nottingham University Business School. The Financial Services Trust Index 2009, by Professor Christine Ennew is based on 1400 consumer interviews and is the first of its kind to look at simple yes and no answers. Professor Ennew said:"The Index offers a boost to the sector with results showing consumers' trust in financial services is even more than venerable institutions like the BBC and NHS." The index shows an overall trust rating of 75.02 for financial services institutions (FSIs), compared to the NHS and BBC who scored 53 and 61 respectively. Of the individual sectors brokers/advisors received the highest rating (81.67) with investment companies (76.24), general insurers (75.98) and building societies (75.22) following. Banks scored highly with 73.96 followed by credit card companies (71.55) and life insurance companies (72.69) on the lower end of the scale. Professor Ennew said: "By employing a strict yes or no answers approach, the Index develops a more complete understanding of consumer trust by looking at base level (cognitive) and high level (affective) trust." Base level (cognitive) trust is significantly above high level (affective) trust as might be expected - respondents are more convinced about the reliability/dependability of FSIs and less convinced about the extent to which FSIs have their interests at heart.