Public trust in banks has continued to improve but attitudes towards the sector remain negative overall, according to the latest report from the Irish Banking Culture Board.
The Éist 2023 report found that a slight majority of people saw banks as a positive force in their community, and as supporters of good causes across society.
SMEs were also slightly more trusting of banks than consumers, though their attitude also remained in negative territory.
"When trust is broken it takes a long time to restore it and it requires a long time commitment and consistency," said Marion Kelly, CEO of the Irish Banking Culture Board.
"What is key, in our view, is to listen to and act on the views of key stakeholders - most particularly your customers, the public in the case of the banks, and your staff."
The IBCB was established in 2019 to help bring about cultural change in the country's banks.
It came in the wake of the tracker mortgage scandal, which built on the reputational damage from the issues that emerged around Irish banks during the financial crisis.
This is the board’s third annual Éist report, with trust levels slowly improving in that time.
However banks are making inroads, particularly in their perceived positive impact on local communities.
"There's an expectation of customers and staff that the companies that they work for and do business with, stand for something, they're doing something for social good," she said. "In a banking perspective that's in financial awareness, financial literacy, and support for customers who, for whatever reason, are vulnerable."
Banks' local operations were also far more trusted than the organisations themselves, with the public having a broadly positive view of their branch - despite still being negative on the wider sector.
This is a positive for banks - but also presents a challenge as they, and consumers, continue to shift their banking habits towards digital.
"There's a big increase in trust level for local branches, but clearly trying to marry that with the increasing move to digital," Ms Kelly said.
"The survey also shows that people like digital engagement, a lot of people want to only get their services that way, but there are a lot of people that don't - and those people need to be looked after."
This year's report was particularly influenced by the withdrawal of KBC Bank Ireland and Ulster Bank Ireland.
Trust levels in those banks was particularly low, with trust levels in the sector improved by their exclusion.
"If your bank is leaving the market it is going to impact your trust level," Ms Kelly said. "But despite this huge upheaval in the market where thousands of customers had to go through a lot of hassle, frankly, to change their bank account, the efforts that were put in place by banks... to make that as easy a process as possible has come through as a positive in this survey."
Remaining banks may also have improved their image through the switching process, with only 16% of consumer saying the experience had undermined their trust in the bank they joined.
Almost half of respondents said they were satisfied with the bank they joined, while 39% said they found the switching process easier than expected.
