UK retail banks’ reputation improves but RBS, TSB and HSBC still lag, survey shows

Nationwide topped the ranking, followed by Virgin Money and Halifax

Josie Cox
Business Editor
Wednesday 31 May 2017 13:12 BST
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Halifax and NatWest particularly benefitted from distancing themselves from their parent group, RBS
Halifax and NatWest particularly benefitted from distancing themselves from their parent group, RBS

Retail banks in the UK are slowly bolstering their reputation, but many still have to fight hard to win consumers’ trust, especially Royal Bank of Scotland, TSB and HSBC.

The sector’s reputation was severely hurt by the financial crisis and has struggled to recover in since then. But a study of 35,000 customers conducted by the Reputation Institute during the first quarter of this year shows that the industry’s reputation is improving – albeit at a moderate pace.

As a whole, the sector achieved a score of 57.7 in 2015 which has risen to 64.5 since, placing it in the “average” category. That puts it below technology but above utilities.

Nationwide topped the ranking, followed by Virgin Money and Halifax. Lloyds Banking Group and Metro Bank rounded out the top five. The top two were awarded the same two spots last year, but Santander, which was third last year, slipped down to sixth in 2017, making it the biggest faller.

The report by the Reputation Institute, a global consulting and advisory firm, found that Halifax and NatWest had particularly benefitted from distancing themselves from their parent group, RBS, which scored worst putting it in 12th spot. TSB came in 11th place after HSBC in 10th.

“The strong reputation score Nationwide has achieved this year and last year proves that the sector a business operates in does not need to hold it back from striving for an excellent reputation,” said James Bickford, managing director of the Reputation Institute. Natwest gained an individual score of 79.8 giving it a “strong” rating.

“Through its communications Nationwide has leveraged its position as a building society owned by its members, and this has paid off in the eyes of the UK public,” Mr Bickford added.

Banks were rated on several criteria and the report found that overall, they performed well on perceptions of data privacy and security. Lenders also scored strongly on perceptions of good compliance with regulatory and legal requirements, but received a much poorer ranking on perceptions of how well they reward loyalty.

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