People still to have mixed feeling towards banks, insurers, fund managers and other financial services providers, according to a new report commissioned by PwC.
The financial advisory firm’s latest report into the financial services sector, How financial services lost its mojo – and how to regain it, was based on analysis of a survey of over 2,000 people across the Ƶ, including around 180 in the West Midlands.
It reveals that although 49 per cent of people in the Ƶ and 46 per cent in the West Midlands believe regulation of the financial services sector has been strengthened, 57 per cent in the Ƶ and 56 per cent in the West Midlands do not believe reforms are sufficient to ensure history will not repeat itself.
The report also highlights a sense of apathy among customers, with evidence of low trust scores.
While only 32 per cent of people in the Ƶ and just 29 per cent in the West Midlands trust their retail banks, only 11 per cent - both for the Ƶ as whole and for the West Midlands - have changed their current account provider in the last year.
David Roper, partner and financial services leader at PwC in the Midlands, said: “By and large, consumers in the West Midlands are experiencing the same apathy towards retail banks and the sector as a whole as those across the Ƶ.
“This report highlights the need for retail banking to become much more customer focused, and be seen to be doing so.”
