Supermarkets not trusted as banks, survey shows

Debtors are increasingly wary about supermarket brands acting as banks, a new study has shown, revealing that only a small proportion of the country would consider taking out a mortgage with such institutions.

The study, conducted by moneysupermarket.com, indicated that ten per cent consider that supermarkets offer a better service than banks when taking care of their finances, while just five per cent would take out mortgages with them.

And only four per cent believe that such brands are more trustworthy than banks when it comes to their money.

Head of banking at moneysupermarket.com Kevin Mountford noted that cynicism regarding the expansion of large companies into new product areas is natural but the introduction of increased competition in the financial industry “should be seen as a positive move”.

In contrast, head of personal finance at lovemoney.com Ed Bowsher recently observed that monetary services provided by food stores such as Tesco are rising in popularity among borrowers, citing public mistrust in banks as a reason for these feelings.

By Sarah Adie