Customer Trust in Big Banks Dwindles

A new study shows large banks have a growing problem on their hands — customers are losing trust in out-of-touch banks and see larger institutions as becoming more selfish. The February study of 50 U.S. financial service companies from Forrester Research says that customers are so fed up that they’re more than willing to take a walk and that banks need to wake up before they lose them for good.

There is some good news for financial institutions and we’ll get straight to that upfront. Insurance companies, especially USAA (Stock Quote: USISX) and Geico, fared well in the study. And major regional banks like Philadelphia-based PNC Bank saw their polling positives bounce back in 2010.

But major national banks and investment firms absorbed a significant loss in brand stature and customer confidence and trust, Forrester reports. According to the study, “Some of the largest banks in the U.S., such as Chase and Citibank, still crowd the very bottom of the rankings. And almost all investment firms are in the bottom half of our rankings. For the second year in a row, these wealth management firms as a group get the worst customer advocacy ratings overall."

Here’s a list of the banks that fared the worst on the study question: “My financial provider does what’s best for me, not for its own bottom line”

1. HSBC 
(Stock Quote: HBC)
2. Citibank (Stock Quote: C)
3. Fifth-Third Bank 
(Stock Quote: FITB)
4. TD/Commerce (Stock Quote: TD)
5. Capital One 
(Stock Quote: COF)
6. Chase 
(Stock Quote: JPM)
7. Bank of America (Stock Quote: BAC)