A new poll shows Australia’s major banks have a serious trust issue, reinforcing the need for the implementation of Financial System Inquiry (FSI) recommendations.
The poll of 1000 Australians, conducted by the Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA), found that just 7% of consumers had a high degree of trust in the big four banks.
“There’s clearly tremendous consumer appetite for trusted and ethical financial services,” COBA CEO Mark Degotardi said.
“The polling shows consumers want financial advice they can trust and clearer product information.”
Nine out of ten consumers say they regard trust as an important issue, however over one in ten (11%) say they have no trust in financial advisers.
Of the FSI outcomes consumers would like to see, 83% want easier to understand information, 79% want fairer rules for smaller institutions and 79% support diversity in the sector.
“There’s a clear message here that consumers want implementation of the FSI blueprint,” Degotardi said.
“The FSI report noted the breakdown of trust in large parts of the financial services sector. The report makes recommendations to promote the fair treatment of consumers, to improve efficiency and build confidence and trust in the financial system.
“The FSI blueprint is pro-competitive and pro-consumer and will tackle anti-competitive distortions that benefit the biggest banks.
“Australians are looking to the Government to implement the recommendations of this important report.”
