'Trust' May Have Been the Biggest Casualty in Banking

in this recession triggered by the financial crisis

I went to a local branch of a big, national bank yesterday to deposit checks. I went inside instead of using ATM machine. The bank was crowded with people waiting to do transactions. The bank greeters were back. Two of them. There were people sitting in the cubicles taking to the bankers.

Six months ago, this branch looked deserted whenever I went. Usually only 2 to 3 tellers were open, and there was no line, no greeters. Almost all the tellers looked barely out of high school.

That changed, I think, about two months ago. At first I thought it must be something to do with the holiday seasons. But the branch continues to be crowded. Now half the tellers look like they actually have some work experience.

I asked the person who did my transaction, "Is the bank crowded today?" She said it was, and that it had been like that for some time. "I wonder why," I said. She replied, "I think people are more worried about their money these days. They don't trust banks. I hope my money is safe with this bank..."

I was rather taken aback by her assessment. This is the branch of a bank that scores relatively high for a large national bank in terms of customers trust.

This New York Times article from February 9, 2010 lists the bottom 7 banks in terms of trust (as percentage of customers who agree with the statement "My financial provider does what's best for me, not just its own bottom line"). Not surprisingly, they are large national and regional banks: Bank of America, Chase, Capital One, TD/Commerce, Fifth Third, Citibank, and in last place, HSBC.

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