ISA finds mistrust of major banks remains high

In an UMR survey, the majority of respondents said the banks’ for-profit super funds and their boards are overly focused on making a profit.

The survey, which collated the responses from 1,000 people, found that 65 per cent believe bank-owned funds are too focused on “squeezing as much money as possible” out of customers.

David Whiteley, ISA chief executive, said: “This survey captures the extent of the mistrust of the major banks, in part because of the ongoing financial advice scandals.

“Over the last decade, the big banks have had to pay millions of dollars to customers in refunds, compensation or settlements and have been the subject of investigations and other enforcement action by the regulator and police.

“I think the community at large doesn't have a high level of trust in the banks, particularly people over 30.”

ISA argued that despite the poor level of public trust, the banks and bank-owned super funds are attempting to remove consumer protections in regards to default arrangements.

“If Australians formed a view that government proposals intentionally or unintentionally benefitted the banks, at the expense of consumers, that could be of concern to them," Mr Whiteley said.