Not surprising but always important to remember that reputation can deter customers away from something as basic as a checking account or other product.  In a survey by Datamonitor’s Financial Services Insights group, consumers in the U.K. – a large 78% or just imagine nearly 8 in 10 – say that a bank needs an untarnished reputation for them to use them. This high figure is up from 53% in 2011.  That is a very large jump in perception on the importance of reputation in the banking sector. Clearly, the banking scandals of the past 12 months or so have hurt the reputation of the banking sector in the U.K, if not all around the world.  I wish I could find the link to the actual report but when I looked, the reports were expensive so this link that reports the finding will just have to do.  Regardless, the point is made. Consumers are increasingly thinking about whether their banking institutions have a good reputation or not before they decide to do business with them. Years ago, it would have been unheard of for an institution like Lehman Bros. to close down.  Since that catastrophic event and the many others that followed, consumers do not want to take any chances.  That’s clear.