RaboPlus Financial Confidence Index | Mike Heath on the RaboPlus Blog

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RaboPlus Financial Confidence Index ... confidence in finance companies takes king hit

Submitted by Mike Heath on Tuesday, 22 September 2009 | Category: RaboPlus

Today we launched the new RaboPlus Financial Confidence Index, where we measure public confidence in the financial system and ask Kiwi's what they think of:

Deposit Takers

  • Banks
  • Finance Companies
  • Credit Unions & Building Societies


Insurance companies

  • Life
  • House
  • Contents
  • Car


Investment Managers and Advisors

  • Fund Managers
  • Share Brokers
  • Financial Advisors

We covered the key items that contribute to their levels of trust and confidence:

  • Providing good products and services
  • Financial strength
  • Integrity and fairness
  • Quality information
  • Safety

Overall there was a net negative score of 56% in terms of feeling confident about investing in the financial sector, and actually more people were more confident in investing in housing.  The survey has shown the institutions consumers have the least confidence in are finance companies.  It also seems that relative to insurance companies and banks, advisors have borne the brunt of the blame for the financial crisis with share brokers relatively poorly perceived. 

We also asked if people would recommend their bank, insurance company etc and for those that felt they had a good relationship with their service provider, they were more likely to recommend them to friends and family.

For full details of the survey please refer to the media release and presentation below:

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8 Comments

Comment by Alex on 13-10-2009 06:23


Well, the truth is that with the Government Deposit Guarantee scheme it makes little sense to invest with Banks and get much lower interest rates than what one can get by investing with Finance Companies who have the Deposit Guarantee scheme cover.

Comment by James Hoadley on 13-10-2009 06:49


Why did RaboBank lend Craper $$millions to purchase new dairy farms when he was a loser without an ounce of integrity
A huge bad debt, will it be recoved??
Shame on the stupidity of Rabobank investment team.
Are they going to be that reckless with our investment savings??
Don't be arrogant just because some survey gave you a top rating position in the banks

Comment by Simon H on 13-10-2009 08:22


Makes for interesting reading...That said, there are probably no big surprises - the regional differences are interesting though.
I'm also always fascinated by the optimistic view people seem to have of changes in their own nett wealth. Maybe it's just human nature, but projections about idividual worth always seem more positive than sentiment about the wider picture...

Comment by Nick on 13-10-2009 09:28


Financial advisors are parasites in my opinion.

After 7 years of regular saving in a managed fund, at the end of June 09 my financial advisor decided that changes to their circumstances meant I had to withdraw my savings - resulting in a nett return of zero (that's right NOTHING!) in 7 years.

AND I am still waiting after 3 months for aprox 20% of the funds to be returned to me.

I would have been better off putting the money under the mattress.

My advice - don't bother saving. Spend it while you can. That way you will have enjoyed it and guarantee no one will rip you off.

Comment by margaret Gill on 13-10-2009 09:53


Very interesting survey and quite predictable.

Comment by Mike Heath on 14-10-2009 12:04


Alex, perfectly logical point of view. The challenge for finance companies is that a large proportion of their investors have not committed their deposits past Oct 2010 so what happens then, has the deposit guarantee simply delayed the inevitable for some of them? Also the fundamental issue remains, people should be making informed and balanced investment decisions and looking at what their deposits are being invested in.

Comment by Mike Heath on 14-10-2009 12:05


James I can assure you we are not arrogant, and that we do very much value customer feedback and awards as a measure of how well we are delivering on our promises.

Comment by Mike Heath on 14-10-2009 12:06


Nick, not sure I agree with you, although I do think you were being somewhat tongue-in-cheek re not saving. The key is to do your homework – ask yourself if the return is worth the risk and obviously invest with the safest organisations.

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