British second highest in mistrust rating

Britons trust their banks less than any other nationality apart from the Belgians.

Even the Spanish and Italians, who have seen their banks dragged through crisis after crisis, trust banks far more than the Brits.

The US, which has seen possibly the biggest public outcry over the excesses of bankers, came a relatively steady 11th place in a global survey on the banking industry by Ipsos Mori.

The pollster interviewed more than 23,000 people in 24 countries before the Libor-fixing scandal broke.

Britons topped the poll of countries whose citizens are calling for more regulation of the banks, followed closely by Spain, France and Belgium.

When it comes to the reputation of individual banks, HSBC was the highest-scoring UK bank, coming in fifth place globally with a 21 per cent favourable rating. Barclays scored 13 per cent, Lloyds 9 per cent and Royal Bank of Scotland just 6 per cent.