Bankers and the banks that employ them have scored poorly in a survey of the public's views on professions and institutions by the Governance Institute of Australia.Of 1000 people surveyed, 34 per cent scored banking, finance and insurance at the lowest end, indicating the least ethical, on an 11-point scale.Despite their poor rankings, banks still fared better than media and big business in general, with the employers of journalists an easy winner in the "least ethical" categories of the research findings.Personal contact with bank staff dulled the more generic views. The respondents classed 17 per cent of bankers as unethical while 51 per cent received an ethical accolade.In a finding that will resonate with the present industry push to reform pay models the Governance Institute concluded "the majority of Australians feel that executive salaries and bonuses (60 per cent and 56 per cent respectively) are the top issues of ethical importance within the banking and finance sector."The second and third ranked issues chime with themes aired by the most valiant campaigners for a banking royal commission. Bribery and corruption, cited by 48 per cent, was second on the list, while treatment of customers (45 per cent) and insufficient regulation (44 per cent) followed.Ipsos, a polling firm, undertook the survey for the Governance Institute.