Financial services among least trusted industries
Banks, non-bank financial services and insurance are three of the bottom four rated industries for trust, according to the Roy Morgan Risk Monitor.
However, despite being part of the most distrusted industry of banking, ING and Bendigo Bank were in the top 20 most trusted brands.
Michele Levine, Roy Morgan chief executive, said for brands and businesses that experienced a rising level of distrust it can lead directly to customer churn, loss of market share, and a plummeting share price.
“The example of AMP over the last three years is instructive as a once highly respected and trusted business has faced a series of scandals that has translated into a collapse in the share price from nearly $5.50 in early 2018 to only a smidge above $1 today – a share price drop of around 80%,” Levine said.
Levine said for this reason the Risk Monitor was not just a marketing or communications issue.
“It goes to the heart of corporate governance in an era in which a rumour can spread around the world in an instant via social media networks and do incalculable damage to a brand’s reputation – whether fairly or not,” Levine said.
“Distrust is a driver of consumer behaviour and should be on the risk register of every publicly listed company in Australia given the danger it can pose to a brand’s good reputation in the corporate realm – and also amongst existing and prospective customers.
“Our work has uncovered the scale of distrust that exists for many brands and businesses. It’s not uncertainty or even an absence of trust. It is something separate and more powerful, an active sense that we were foolish to trust too much, and it cannot be ignored.”
AUTHOR
Chris Dastoor
Recommended for you
The central bank has released its decision on the official cash rate following its November monetary policy meeting.
ASIC has cancelled the AFSL of a Melbourne-based managed investment scheme operator over a failure to pay industry levies and meet its statutory audit and financial reporting lodgement obligations.
Melbourne advice firm Hewison Private Wealth has marked four decades of service after making its start in 1985 as a “truly independent advice business” in a largely product-led market.
HLB Mann Judd Perth has announced its acquisition of a WA business advisory firm, growing its presence in the region, along with 10 appointments across the firm’s national network.
