OREANDA-NEWS. November 05, 2015. A representative public opinion survey revealed that, of financial institutions, the Lithuanian residents expressed their greatest confidence in insurance undertakings and greatest distrust in instant credit companies.  

Two-thirds of respondents (65%) trust insurance undertakings completely or trust more than distrust. Meanwhile, 16 per cent of respondents expressed distrust or partial distrust. Another 19 per cent of respondents did not have an opinion on this issue. Confidence is mostly motivated by the fact that insurance undertakings cover losses and harm, as claimed by 25 per cent of those who trust insurers. Loss-bearing endowment assurance, life assurance is the most frequently mentioned reason behind distrust, as claimed by 20 per cent of those who distrust; 14 per cent mentioned that insurance claims were too little.  

46 per cent of survey respondents fully trust commercial banks or trust more than not. Full or partial distrust in them was expressed by 42 per cent of respondents, while 12 per cent of them did not have any opinion. Every fifth of those who trusted motivated their confidence by the fact that “they did not face any problems in the use of services”, 16 per cent reported that they just did not have any other alternatives. Of those who expressed distrust, every third related it to the price formation of banking services: high service pricing (this reason was reported by 22% of those who have no confidence), new fees and limits (10%).  

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Confidence in 2nd pillar pension funds was reported by 40 per cent of respondents, while 26 per cent of respondents have the opposite opinion. One-third of respondents did not have any opinion about pension funds, 28 per cent of those who trust reported that they trusted pension funds because of future aid and income in old age. The most often mentioned reasons behind the distrust are absence of guarantees and fear of bankruptcy (as reported by 30% of those who distrust). 

53 per cent of the surveyed distrust credit unions completely or in part, while every fourth of those who distrust reported frequent cases of bankruptcy as the most frequent reason behind their distrust. Lack of information or negative information being heard was reported by 16 per cent and 15 per cent respectively of those who distrust, as the reason behind their distrust. 16 per cent of respondents distrust credit unions rather than trust, or distrust them completely, while 31 per cent did not have any opinion on this issue. Those who trust credit unions mainly reported that they did not happen to hear anything wrong about them or encounter negative experiences.  

Instant credit companies are completely or partly distrusted by over two-thirds (67%) of surveyed residents. The most often indicated reasons behind the distrust are high interest rates and the fact that “many people are being driven into debt, including young adults”, report their distrust in these companies 39 and 19 per cent of the surveyed respectively; meanwhile, 12 per cent specified “granting of loans without limitations” as the reason behind their distrust in credit companies.   

Confidence in instant credit companies was only expressed by 8 per cent of surveyed residents, most of whom based their confidence on “fast credit extension” and the relevance of this service. 

The Bank of Lithuania, as the institution supervising the financial market and its participants, surveys residents’ attitude towards certain financial services and institutions providing them, with the aim of evaluating issues of relevance to the society and problems in this field. The public opinion survey was conducted on behalf of the Bank of Lithuania by the market and public opinion research company Spinter tyrimai on 18–26 September 2015. During the research, 1,005 residents aged 18 to 75 were surveyed. In order to reflect the public opinion objectively, respondents were invited to specify the reasons behind their trust or distrust in financial institutions themselves rather than selecting among the responses provided.