Five high-street banks feature in the top 20 of the UK's most-trusted brands, based on a poll carried out by Lansons Communications and Opinium Research.
Barclays, HSBC and Nationwide, which did not seek financial support from the government during the credit crunch, rank higher than competitors that did.
Barclays and HSBC are the most-trusted financial brands, ranking equal 12th; Nationwide is in 16th place, while Lloyds TSB, NatWest and Halifax rank 19th, 20th and 24th respectively. Santander, still a relatively new name to UK consumers, ranks 28th.
Tony Langham, chief executive of Lansons Communications, said the bail-out had negatively affected the reputation of banks such as Lloyds TSB, which had consistently finished top of earlier polls ranking trust in banks.
However, he noted that the fact that the banks that fall into this group still appeared in the table demonstrates the important relationship they have with customers and the crucial role they play in everyday life.
Beyond the banking brands, retailer Marks & Spencer tops the poll, having received more than double the number of nominations of any other brand. John Lewis ranks second, while Tesco, Boots and Virgin complete the top five.
Of the 3000 people surveyed, just 52% said that they trust a brand. A third said they don't use the word 'trust' in association with companies, while 17% said they 'don't really trust companies any more'.
Langham said: 'There is a problem of trust between business and consumers, and that is something the marketing industry needs to address. Companies themselves need to define what they're about and become socially useful.'
Energy company BP ranks 30th, despite its recent troubles, ahead of brands including Ford, Coca-Cola and Vodafone. BP's rival, Shell, appears in 42nd place.
Amazon and Apple lead the non-UK brands, both ranking in the top 10. Tesco is the top-ranked supermarket and O2 the most-trusted mobile network. Meanwhile, Ford ranks highest among the automotive brands.
The survey of UK adults was conducted between 5 and 13 October.
MOST-TRUSTED
Rank Company
1 Marks & Spencer
2 John Lewis
3 Tesco
4 Boots
= Virgin
6 The Co-operative
7 Amazon
8 Asda
9 BT
10 Apple
11 Sainsbury's
12 Barclays
= BBC
= HSBC
15 O2
16 Nationwide
17 British Gas
= Sony
19 Lloyds TSB
20 NatWest
21 Sky
22 Waitrose
23 Morrisons
24 Argos
= First Direct
= Halifax
27 Microsoft
28 Google
= Santander
>
In response to: 'Please list the companies you would say you trust'. Base: All Stated - 'There are still a few companies I trust' = 1563 Source: Lansons Trust Report.
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