Global: Are banks the first port of call for financial advice?

Global YouGov data allows us to find out the general public’s opinion on a range of financial topics in a range of different regions. In this 18-market study, we’ve surveyed consumers in Europe, North America, APAC, and MENA on where they are most (and least) likely to agree that their bank is the best source of advice on investing and saving money.

Our findings showed that consumers in India (45% agree; 19% disagree), the UAE (44% agree; 16% disagree) and Indonesia (41% agree; 11% disagree) were most likely to trust a bank with financial advice.
At the other end of the scale, Britons (18% agree; 40% disagree) were least likely to trust the advice of a bank, with Americans (18% vs. 36%) not far behind.

There isn’t a particularly strong geographical trend here: European nations appear at the top of the table (Germany 29% vs. 31% disagree; France 28% agree; 31% disagree) and bottom of the table (Sweden 22% vs. 36%); and it’s the same with the North Americans (Canada 33% vs. 29%; Mexico 36% vs. 26%) and Asia (Singapore 21% vs. 33%; China 29%.vs. 22%). On a global level, people are evenly split: 28% agree that their bank is a first port of call for investment and savings advice, next to 29% who disagree. One thing’s for sure – in most markets, if banks are to position themselves as financial advisers, they’ve got a way to go before earning consumer trust – something that leaves the way open for other sources.

The data is based on the interviews of adults aged 18 and over in 18 markets with sample sizes varying. All interviews were conducted online in February 2022. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples.