Survey Reveals Americans Have More Trust in Banks Since Recession

The Great Recession rattled Americans’ trust in banks — and for good reason. Banks that were once considered too big to fail fell hard. And several others came very close to collapsing.

The U.S. government responded by enacting new financial regulations with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. But that didn’t put an end to banking scandals. Wells Fargo was fined $185 million in September for opening millions of accounts in customers’ names without their permission, and its CEO John Stumpf resigned in October.

Given the continuing turmoil in the banking industry, GOBankingRates sought to find out if Americans have confidence in their financial institutions.

Americans’ Trust in Banks: Overall Results

Do people trust banks? In a recent survey conducted by Survata, GOBankingRates asked more than 500 Americans five questions to find out how much trust they have in their bank:

1. Do you trust that your money is safe with your bank?
2. Do you trust that your bank has security measures that can withstand a cyber attack?
3. Do you trust that your bank has your best interest in mind?
4. Do you trust your bank’s employees with your personal information?
5. Do you trust your bank more or less than you did before the 2008 recession?

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Based on the responses, GOBankingRates found that most Americans do trust their bank. In fact, our data shows that people’s faith in their financial institution has actually increased since the Great Recession. Here are the highlights from the survey:

• 73% of Americans trust that their money is safe with their bank.
• 69% trust that their bank has security measures that can withstand a cyber attack.
• 65% trust that their bank has their best interest in mind.
• 72% trust their bank’s employees with their personal information.
• 60% trust their bank more than they did before the 2008 recession.

Look at the tables below to see how Americans’ confidence levels in banks vary by gender, age and income.

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Americans’ Trust in Banks: Gender Insights

The survey found that, for the most part, women have more trust in their bank than men do. Here’s how they answered each of the survey’s five questions.

Question 1: Do you trust that your money is safe with your bank?

Question 2: Do you trust that your bank has security measures that can withstand a cyber attack?

Question 3: Do you trust that your bank has your best interest in mind?

Question 4: Do you trust your bank’s employees with your personal information?

Question 5: Do you trust your bank more or less than you did before the 2008 recession?

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Americans’ Trust in Banks: Age Insights

The survey also classified respondents by age range. Overall, 25- to 34-year-olds (older millennials) are the least trusting of their bank, while those 65 and older are the most trusting. Older millennials are also the only ones who trust their bank less than they did before the Great Recession.

For more insights, see how respondents in each age group responded to the survey questions.

Question 1: Do you trust that your money is safe with your bank?

Question 2: Do you trust that your bank has security measures that can withstand a cyber attack?

Question 3: Do you trust that your bank has your best interest in mind?

Question 4: Do you trust your bank’s employees with your personal information?

Question 5: Do you trust your bank more or less than you did before the 2008 recession?

Americans’ Trust in Banks: Income Insights

In addition to the five questions respondents were asked to gauge their trust in banks, they were also asked what their household income was. The survey found that respondents who fell into the highest income bracket — those earning $150,000 or more — had less trust in their bank than other respondents.

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Below is a detailed breakdown of how respondents in various income brackets responded to each question.

Question 1: Do you trust that your money is safe with your bank?

Question 2: Do you trust that your bank has security measures that can withstand a cyber attack?

Question 3: Do you trust that your bank has your best interest in mind?

Question 4: Do you trust your bank’s employees with your personal information?

Question 5: Do you trust your bank more or less than you did before the 2008 recession?

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Methodology: In this survey, GOBankingRates asked 532 people in the U.S. six questions. The survey was conducted by Survata on June 26, and responses are representative of the U.S. online population. It has a margin of error of 4.2 percent.

Respondents were asked the following yes or no questions: 1) Do you trust that your money is safe with your bank?; 2) Do you trust that your bank has security measures that can withstand a cyber attack?; 3) Do you trust that your bank has your best interest in mind?; 4) Do you trust your bank’s employees with your personal information?; and 5) Do you trust your bank more or less than you did before the 2008 recession? Respondents also were asked the following: What is your average household income? They could select one of the following income ranges: $0-$24,999; $25,000-$49,999; $50,000-$74,999; $75,000-$99,999; $100,000-$149,999; or $150,000 or more.