UK banks are greedy and impersonal, according to a survey of consumers.

In a poll of 852 customers in January by public relations agency Cohn & Wolfe, 49 per cent of customers said the word that best described their bank was ‘greedy’, while 36 per cent described it as ‘impersonal’.

Positive descriptions were in the minority, with just two per cent choosing ‘ethical’ and four per cent labelling their bank as ‘trustworthy’.

Ros Hunt, head of financial services at Cohn & Wolfe, said: “Given the broader economic climate and the crisis which has hit this sector, we anticipated seeing consumers report deterioration in trust.

“However, the depth of resentment surprised us, demonstrating how badly customers perceive financial organisations.”

Almost two thirds (64 per cent) of respondents’ trust in financial institutions had weakened over the last 18 months.

However, high street banks still come top of the list when it comes to trust, the poll showed.

Retail banks were the most trusted type of financial service (59 per cent), while online financial service providers and supermarket retailers (both six per cent) were at the other end of the scale.

Insurance providers (five per cent) and investment brokers (two per cent), appear to be the least trusted by consumers.

If banks want to regain their customers’ trust, putting an end to excessive bonuses (48 per cent) and showing a greater willingness to pass on interest rate cuts (47 per cent) would help, respondents said.

Greater transparency in how banks operate and communicate (27 per cent) was the third most common response.