Almost half of consumers do not trust banks, accountancy firms and private equity firms to act in their best interests. That's according to the latest findings from advisory firm CEB. Its Consumer Financial Monitor, conducted among 18,000 consumers across 24 countries, looked at changes in financial sentiment from January 2011 to July 2012 and assessed a range of different trust factors.

Out of all European countries confidence in financial providers was lowest in the UK, while the most positive sentiment was among consumers in Spain and Sweden. The most common concerns of consumers to trigger this low confidence are the inability of financial providers to share consumers’ own values and to offer them clear and simple policies. Only 10 per cent and 11 per cent respectively expressed confidence in these areas. Meanwhile, 47 per cent said they did not feel confident that banks could keep their money safe, while one in ten thought that they could keep their commitments and promises.

Consumers felt most unhappy about the quality and range of borrowing products, with 31 per cent saying they were dissatisfied with the service offered by their financial provider. The findings also showed a direct link between wealth and confidence in providers, with HNWIs feeling the most confident, followed by the mass affluent and the mass market.

Peter Aykens, managing director in financial services at CEB, says: “The low ebb in consumer confidence reflects the uncertain lending environment for businesses, particularly SMEs, many of whom have had to look beyond the banks to alternative institutional funds. At the same time, the link between the wealth and confidence in providers seems to support the notion that HNWIs have been least affected by the recession.”

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