Is your firm using one of the 7 least-trusted banks?

On the whole, the reputation of the banking industry has taken some hits. Some former stalwarts are the least trusted now.

Forrester’s recently put out its annual Customer Advocacy rankings. The survey ranks a banking institution’s “customer advocacy ranking” by asking customers if they agree with the statement, “My financial provider does what’s best for me, not just its own bottom line.”

According to the Forrester’s survey, these banks had the lowest percentage of customers that believe the bank “does what’s right for me”:

1. HSBC (16%)
2. Citibank (26%)
3. Fifth Third Bank (27%)
4. TD/Commerce (28%)
5. Capital One (29%)
6. Chase (31%), and
7. Bank of America (33%).

To put these findings in perspective, Forrester’s acknowledges that the more customers a bank has, the lower its customer advocacy ranking is likely to be.

However, there are exceptions.

Example: Nearly 40% of Wells Fargo/Wachovia customers believe the large bank does what’s best for them.

The survey also reinforced the idea that the majority of credit-union customers believe their banks have their best interests at heart — with a 70% customer-advocacy ranking on Forrester’s survey.

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