Trust for Singapore banks rises for second consecutive year: study

The index rose to 70 points, indicating high trust in banks.

Trust for Singaporean banks increased for the second consecutive year in a row, according to a study conducted by the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) and Edelman Data and Intelligence in late 2022.

The Banking Trust Index for Singapore (BTIS) rose to 70 points in 2022 from only 63 in 2021.The ENTS is a 200-point scale, ranging from negative 100–if all respondents have low trust of banks–to positive 100, which indicates that all respondents have high trust in banks.

Of the 3,500 Singapore residents an 15 banks surveyed, 74% of respondents said that they have high trust in the banks, whilst 4% of respondents have low trust.

Respondents attribute their trust in the industry to banks’ resilience as seen in their strong business and financial performance through the pandemic, ABS and Edelman said in a press release.

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“They also appreciate the efforts by the industry to help customers guard themselves against scams, as well as banks’ handling of customer data with integrity. There is also greater acknowledgement that banks in Singapore have not been associated with scandals and wrongdoing,” it said.

To further strengthen public trust, the report advised banks to be more forthcoming about their business values as well as disclosing their positive contributions to the wider community.

Areas for improvement include having more transparency about mistakes, aligning with customer values, having fair employment practices,and having a positive social and environmental impact.

“The survey showed that the public is confident that over the next three to five years, banks in Singapore will continue to advance in harnessing technology and innovation to offer convenience and security to customers, taking necessary measures to curb re-occurrence of past errors, and raising customer awareness about protecting their bank accounts from fraud,” ABS said in the press statement.