Banks and BA have 'shocking reputation'

Royal Mail, British Airways and state-controlled banks Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds are among the big British companies that have a "shockingly poor reputation among consumers", a survey has revealed. British American Tobacco, the cigarette maker, has the worst corporate reputation out of 140 companies, but it is closely followed by Royal Bank of Scotland in 138th place and Lloyds TSB Group in 136th, according to the Reputation Institute's UK Pulse Report 2010.

It said that "scandals, strikes and shoddy service" have had a direct impact on this year's ranking, which partly explains why British Airways dropped to 114th place this year and Eurostar had a ranking of 113th. Royal Mail came in at 110th.

Seamus Gillen, the managing director of Reputation Institute UK, said: "The aftershocks of the banking crisis have also been felt since our last report, leading many people to lose their trust in some of the country's biggest brands." Alliance Boots had the best corporate reputation.