Customer-owned banks including G&C Mutual Bank have once again been named Australia’s most trusted banking sector, according to the latest Roy Morgan Bank Trust and Distrust Scores Report.
The report, based on Roy Morgan’s ongoing Risk Monitor surveying approximately 25,000 Australians1 each year, marks customer-owned banking’s second consecutive recognition as most trusted sector and shows a further improvement in their collective Net Trust Score2 since the previous report in May 2023.
The improved score for the mutual sector contrasts starkly with the broader banking industry. Since May 2023, distrust has worsened with 3.2 million (14.2%) of Australians aged 14 and over now expressing distrust towards either specific banks or the overall banking sector in general.
The banking sector as a whole ranked 24th out of 27 industries for net trust, only surpassing telecommunications, supermarkets, and social media companies. In contrast, customer-owned banks ranked 7th on the scale.
“Trust is something that is earned, and customer-owed banks’ people-first approach translates to competitive rates, innovative products, superior services, and a strong commitment to local communities, which explains why Australians continue to place their trust in mutual banks,” Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA) CEO Michael Lawrence explained.
“Customer-owned banks are built differently. We’re owned by our customers, which means our purpose is to create long-term value for them and their communities. Unlike listed banks, financial performance is not our purpose - it enables our purpose,” he added.
The report also found Australians define trust using terms like ‘reliable’, ‘good service’, and ‘honest’, but describe distrust with expressions like ‘greedy’, ’profit-driven’, and ‘unethical’.
Customer-owned banks, which includes mutual banks, credit unions and building societies, collectively serve over 5.4 million Australians and have been providing purpose-led banking for nearly 180 years.
1 Reporting period is 12 months to January 2025. The customer-owned banking sector outperformed even the highest-rated investor-owned bank, with a collective Net Trust Score higher than any individual bank
2 The customer-owned banking sector recorded far more trust than distrust, resulting in an overall Net Trust Score of 1.00. In contrast, the entire banking industry recorded a Distrust Score of -14.26 and a Net Distrust Score of -3.97. This places the overall banking sector deeply in Net Distrust territory.
