Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Quarterly Trust Study Reveals UK’s Most Trusted Bank Brand

Nationwide remains the UK’s most trusted bank brand, according to this quarter’s edition of the Banking Brand and Trust Index published by tech research platform, Glow

The study shows that while confidence in the banking industry remained steady throughout the COVID-19 crisis, it has also revealed an increasing lack of trust in Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party, whose ranking has plummeted considerably.  

The Trust Index surveyed the views of UK citizens. It tracked consumer confidence in the banking industry and its trustworthiness in relation to 16 other sectors and government departments. Overall, consumer trust in most UK banks has remained largely unchanged during COVID, with respected building societies like Nationwide and Halifax remaining strong at the top of the rankings, while The Royal Bank of Scotland continues to perform poorly. 

The study, established to monitor the shifts in public perception of individual bank brands and the banking industry, has instead highlighted diminishing trust in the elected Government and government departments, which have seen their Trust Scores reduce by 10 and 12 points respectively.  

Neil Gupta, Glow’s UK Managing Director, said: “The UK banks are upholding their reputation and public confidence is the first true test since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis.” 

He continued, “Glow’s data shows the banking industry has only felt a minor dip in confidence — a testament to the resilience of their reputations built over the last 12 years.” 

“It’s pleasing to see consumers have maintained, even slightly uplifted, their attitudes towards department stores and electronics manufacturers.” Neil said, “but concerning that confidence in the Government and its departments has taken a big downturn.”    

A similar study in Australia found trust in its government improved by 10 points, despite extreme lockdown restrictions, while the UK reopens.  

The study uses a unique methodology to rank trust relative to competitors, awarding each bank a Net Trust Score of between -100 and +100. 

Nationwide, with a Trust Score of 31, remains the UK’s most trusted bank brand, with a five point lead on all competitors. Halifax, Lloyds, Natwest and Tesco make up the remainder of the top five, scoring 24, 21, 21 and 19 respectively. Barclays ranks 8th and scored 18, and HSBC ranks 10th and scored 17. TSB sits outside of the top 10, scoring 15. The Royal Bank of Scotland, the UK’s worst performing brand, decreases further from 8 to 5. 

Ranking Bank August NTS April NTS Difference 
1 Nationwide 31 32 (-1) 
2 Halifax 24 25 (-1) 
3 Lloyds Bank 21 20 (+1) 
4 NatWest 21 21  
5 Tesco Bank 19 18 (+1) 
6 Barclays Bank 18 17 (+1) 
7 The Co-Operative Bank 17 17  
8 HSBC Bank 17 20 (-3) 
9 Santander UK 16 18 (-2) 
10 Yorkshire Bank 16 18 (-2) 
11 TSB Bank 15 13 (+2) 
12 Metro Bank 13 12 (+1) 
13 Clydesdale Bank 11 13 (-2) 
14 Virgin Money 9 12 (-3) 
15 Bank of Scotland 9 11 (-2) 
16 The Royal Bank of Scotland 5 8 (-3) 

 
Industry rankings 

Ranking Industry August NTS April NTS Difference 
1 Department Stores 30 29 (+1) 
2 Electronics manufactures 29 28 (+1) 
3 Electronics stores 27 27 NA 
4 Telecommunications providers 22 21 (+1) 
5 Banks 22 24 (-2) 
6 Internet search engines 21 22 (-1) 
7 Automotive manufactures 21 23 (-2) 
8 Airlines 18 22 (-4) 
9 Alcoholic drink manufactures 18 18 NA 
10 Private health insurance providers 18 19 (-1) 
11 Liquor retailers 18 17 (-1) 
12 Fast food outlets 17 15 (-2) 
13 Superannuation funds 13 12 (-1) 
14 Governmental departments 7 19 (-12) 
15 Elected government 4 14 (-10) 
16 Media -6 1 (-7) 
17 Social media platforms -13 -10 (-3) 

For more information visit: www.glowfeed.com 

For more Finance & Investment news follow i-invest Online


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