Only 30% of Singaporeans trust financial institutions, amongst the lowest in the region

In Hong Kong, Australia, and Singapore, less than half of the customers express trust in their banks.

A survey by research firm Forrester showed there is a deficiency in customer confidence towards banks, investment firms, and life insurers across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.

Within the surveyed respondents, customers consider empathy, dependability, and competence as the fundamental qualities required from their financial services providers to establish trust. 

In terms of trust, the findings reveal that only 30% of Singaporean customers place high trust in their banks, whilst investment customers rate their investment firms with a moderate level of trust. 

However, concerning life insurers, a significant 70% of Singaporean customers express low levels of trust.

Whilst in Australia, only 23% of its bank clients have high trust in their financial institutions.

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Australia received the lowest trust score amongst the surveyed APAC markets specifically for investment firms. The performance of these firms across various trust indicators was subpar, resulting in a lack of trust from customers.

The results also indicated that a significant majority of banking customers in urban China perceive their banks to be dependable (70%), competent (69%), and transparent (78%).

Additionally, investment managers in China enjoy high levels of trust amongst their customers.

In comparison to other markets, customers in India, along with Indonesia, exhibit high levels of trust in their banks and life insurers. 

Nevertheless, the investment sector in urban India received a moderate overall trust score (69.9) in the survey.

Forester’s APAC Financial Services Customer Trust Index 2022 encompasses three key sectors, namely consumer banking, investment management, and life insurance, across seven geographies, which are Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. 

The index is based on the survey responses of 17,900 consumers.