While the industry suffers from a significantly diminished reputation, consumers still hold a fairly balanced view of recent actions taken by the industry - particularly the institutions that have received federal Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) funds. In this important area, Americans are clearly listening to what banks have to say right now, and so far are split evenly between those giving banks credit for good use of federal funds and those with doubts.
"Ironically, at a time when the financial services industry has the most at stake, its communications with consumers and policymakers have descended to a strikingly low level. Perhaps one of the most jarring findings in this survey is the sheer lack of industry leadership in communicating what financial services companies are doing to aid in a broad-based economic recovery," said Torod Neptune, senior vice president and Global Public Affairs Practice leader at Waggener Edstrom Worldwide.
Specifically, the survey uncovered the following:
- Forty-four percent of respondents said they had heard something from the industry but felt more negative after hearing it, suggesting that media coverage or advertising is shaping public opinion more than direct communication from the industry.
- Eleven percent of respondents have heard something from the industry and felt better about the industry after hearing it, suggesting that when there is authentic and credible communication, it positively influences widely held opinions about the industry overall.
- Thirty-eight percent of respondents said they have heard nothing directly from the industry at all.
"Americans are looking to banks and the financial services industry for answers, and so far, they are hearing none," said Thomas Riehle, managing partner with RT Strategies. "Historically we see a 2-to-1 positive score on what people have heard, given institutional attempts to present a positive image via PR and marketing, so when it falls as far as 1-to-1 negative, we know an institution is controversial and in trouble. In that context, these scores (4-to-1 negative) are miserable."
Despite the low vote of confidence, consumers still appear willing to give the industry the benefit of the doubt on questions about industry practices, such as the use of TARP funds. For example:
- Twenty-eight percent said they believe that banks are using the recently secured federal TARP funds to make consumer loans.
- Twenty-three percent said they believed the industry was using the funds to make business loans.
- Twenty-seven percent said they believed the industry was holding the funds in reserve.
- Twenty-one percent said they believed the industry was using the funds to pay salaries and bonuses for its executives.
"Despite the overwhelmingly negative media coverage of the industry in the past few weeks, it was surprising to see that consumers still express a fairly balanced view of the industry and even acknowledge some of its recent positive contributions to economic recovery. Clearly there lies a huge opportunity for financial services leaders to step forward in the midst of this storm - but they need to proactively communicate," Neptune said.
As political disagreements continue between the Obama administration and Congress over the correct way to address the current crisis and individual company actions (e.g., AIG Inc., Citigroup Inc.), consumers credit President Obama with doing the most to address the current financial situation as compared with Democrats and Republicans in Congress:
- Sixty-nine percent of Americans say President Obama is doing more, compared with just 12 percent for banks and the financial services industry.
- When compared with Democrats in Congress, 57 percent credit congressional Democrats with doing more, compared with 18 percent for banks and the financial services industry.
- Even when compared with Republicans in Congress, 39 percent say congressional Republicans are doing more, compared with 25 percent for banks and the financial industry.
- Overall, 36 percent said "neither" or "not sure" when asked if the president or Congress is doing more.
"The window for action is narrow and closing. The result is both a crisis in confidence in the leaders of banks and financial services companies, and a sense that government, not banks and financial services companies, leads the way when it comes to solutions - and both of those are very bad news for the financial sector going forward," Riehle said.
