Abstract
Fostering and maintaining high levels of trust in the financial services sector is seen as crucial because of the characteristics of many financial service and in order to promote consumer engagement in the sector. In this article, we report evidence from a body of work and other commentary to provide an insight into trends in consumer trust in the sector as a whole, in comparison with other organisations and how different types of financial services provider have performed relative to each other. We show that the financial services sector as a whole is trusted more than some comparator institutions, and that aggregate levels of trust in the sector have fluctuated a relatively small amount subsequent to the financial crisis. However, important differences between provider types are apparent and these differences have become more profound in the recent past. We provide suggestions as to how trust in the sector may be improved and provider an analysis of current initiatives to improve trust levels in the sector in general and in banking in particular.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Altman, M. (2012) Implications of behavioural economics for financial literacy and public policy. Journal of Socio-Economics 41: 677–690.
Ben-Ner, A. and Halldorsson, F. (2010) Trusting and trustworthiness: What are they, how to measure them, and what affects them. Journal of Economic Psychology 31 (1): 64–79.
Berry, L. (1995) Relationship marketing of services – growing interest, emerging perspectives. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 23 (4): 236–245.
Datamonitor (2009) ‘Rebuilding consumer trust in day-to-day banking’. Data from global consumer FSCI survey? http://www.datamonitor.com/store/Product/rebuilding_consumer_trust_in_day_to_day_banking?productid=DMFS2392, accessed 4 August 2015.
Devlin, J.F. (2015) As far as they can throw. Financial World February/March: 56–58.
Devlin, J.F., Roy, S.K. and Sekhon, H. (2014) Perceptions of fair treatment in financial services: Development, validation and application of a fairness measurement scale. European Journal of Marketing 48 (7/8): 1315–1322.
Edelman (2014) Trust in financial services, http://www.edelman.com/insights/intellectual-property/2014-edelman-trust-barometer/trust-in-business/trust-in-financial-services/, accessed 4 August 2015.
Edelman (2015) The state of trust in the financial services industry, http://www.edelman.com/2015-edelman-trust-barometer/trust-across-industries/financial-services-path-to-building-trust/, accessed 4 August 2015.
Ennew, C.T. (2009) The Financial Services Trust Index. University of Nottingham, UK: A Financial Services Research Forum Report, http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/business/businesscentres/crbfs/research/researchreports.aspx.
Ennew, C.T., Kharouf, H. and Sekhon, H. (2011) Trust in UK financial services: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Financial Services Marketing 16 (1): 65–75.
Ennew, C.T. and Sekhon, H. (2005) The Financial Services Trust Index: A Pilot Study. UK: University of Nottingham. A Financial Services Research Forum Report, http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/business/businesscentres/crbfs/research/researchreports.aspx.
Ennew, C.T. and Sekhon, H. (2006) ‘The financial services trust index’ A financial services research forum report, University of Nottingham, UK, http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/business/businesscentres/crbfs/research/researchreports.aspx.
Ennew, C.T. and Sekhon, H. (2007) The trust index. Consumer Policy Review 17 (2): 62–68.
Grayson, K., Johnson, D. and Chen, D.-F.R. (2008) Is firm trust essential in a trusted environment? How trust in the business context influences customers. Journal of Marketing Research 45 (2): 241–256.
Kuneva, M. (2009) Restoring consumer trust in retail financial services. ESBG Conference ‘Retail Banking in Europe – the way forward, lessons from the crisis and priorities for the future’. Speech/09/403. European Consumer Commissioner, Brussels, Belgium, September.
Leyshon, A. and Thrift, N. (1997) Money/Space: Geographies of Monetary Transformation. London and New York: Routledge.
McKnight, D.H., Cummings, L.L. and Chervany, N.L. (1998) Initial trust formation in new organizational relationships. Academy of Management Review 23 (3): 473–490.
Moin, S., Devlin, J.F. and McKechnie, S. (2015) Trust in financial services: Impact of institutional trust and dispositional trust on trusting belief. Journal of Financial Services Marketing 20 (2): 91–106.
Morgan, R.M. and Hunt, S.D. (1994) The commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing. Journal of Marketing 58 (3): 20.
PWC (2014) Stand Out for the Right Reasons-How Financial Services Lost its Mojo and How It Can Get It Back. London, UK: PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
Rousseau, D., Sitkin, S., Burt, R. and Camer, C. (1998) Not so different after all: A cross-discipline view of trust. Academy of Management Review 23 (3): 393–404.
Roy, S.K., Devlin, J.F. and Sekhon, H. (2015) The Impact of fairness on trustworthiness and trust in banking. Journal of Marketing Management 31 (9–10): 996–1017.
Sekhon, H., Devlin, J.F. and Roy, S. (Forthcoming) Fairness perceptions in financial services: An analyses of distribution channel. International Journal of Bank Marketing.
Sekhon, H., Ennew, C.T., Kharouf, H. and Devlin, J.F. (2014) Trust and trustworthiness: Influences and implications. Journal of Marketing Management 30 (3/4): 409–430.
Sheppard, B.H. and Sherman, D.M. (1998) The grammars of trust: A model and general implications. Academy of Management Review 23 (3): 422–437.
The Bank of England, Prudential Regulation Authority, Financial Conduct Authority (2014) Strengthening Accountability in Banking: A New Regulatory Framework for individuals. Consultation Paper FCA CP14/13/PRA CP14/14, July 2014, Bank of England, London.
The Chartered Insurance Institute (2010) What We Talk About When We Talk About Trust. London, UK: Chartered Insurance Institute.
The UK Card Association/Citizens Advice Bureau (2011) Good News for Credit Card Users: A Consumer Guide. London, UK: UK Card Association/CAB.
Warman, J. (2015) A difficult endeavour. Securities and Investment Review 16–19, June.
Worthington, S. and Devlin, J.F. (2013) Fairness and financial services in Australia and the United Kingdom. International Journal of Bank Marketing 31 (4): 289–304.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Devlin, J., Ennew, C., Sekhon, H. et al. Trust in financial services: Retrospect and prospect. J Financ Serv Mark 20, 234–245 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1057/fsm.2015.21
Received:
Revised:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/fsm.2015.21