Americans’ confidence level in banks has not wavered over the past years, according to an annual Gallup poll, which indicates that the percentage of people who have high regard for the institutions that protect their financial assets is the same as it was in last year’s survey.
Respondents were asked whether they have a “great deal,” “quite a lot,” “some” or “very little” confidence in various institutions. Each institution was then ranked by its combined “great deal” and “quite a lot” score.
Thirty percent of survey respondents indicated that they have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in their bank. That is nine points higher than the record-low confidence level recorded in 2012 but still nowhere near as high as when public confidence in banks peaked at 53 percent in 2004.
The results showed that the public has more confidence in banks than in public schools, organized labor and the criminal justice system. However, the public is slightly more trusting of the Supreme Court, the church or organized religion and the medical system.
The military (73 percent), small businesses (68 percent) and the police (53 percent) were the top-ranked institutions, whereas Congress garnered the lowest confidence rating at 11 percent.
The data was compiled as the result of a poll examining Americans’ confidence in churches and organized religion against other institutions, for which it revealed 36 percent of Americans have significant confidence – a significant drop from the 1970s and 1980s, when that level consistently was above 60 percent.