â–¶ Journalists Say Financial Trust Eroded: Financial journalists polled in the second annual BackBay-Marketwire Financial Services Reputation Survey said that the finance industry’s reputation has declined over the last year, and financial services firms need to overcome a credibility gap. Specific findings include:
• 83% of the 107 journalists polled say the reputation of the financial services sector has declined over the past year; 59% say it has declined significantly and 24% say it has declined slightly.
• 82% say the biggest communications challenges for firms in the next six months will be overcoming a credibility gap with their constituencies; 49% say responding to regulatory changes; and 33% say it will be managing crises.
• Ways to rebuild trust include working to be seen as credible (74%), having their customers’ interests in mind (64%) and being financially sound (41%).
• The top ways for financial services companies to receive positive media coverage were through having company executives available to discuss industry trends (79%) and developing relationships with reporters (76%).
Source: BackBay Communications