Bendigo and Adelaide Bank top among banks

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has outshone the country's four largest banks, to be the Australia's most highly regarded bank, according to the Corporate Reputation Index.

The Corporate Reputation Index is part of an annual global study by research consultancy AMR and the Reputation Institute. The 60 companies included in the list are the largest companies in Australia by revenue and are sourced from the IBIS World Top 1000 Company list.

The index measured reputation across seven dimensions - products and services, innovation, leadership, performance, governance, citizenship and workplace.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, ranked 13th last year, jumped to number seven, just behind Australia Post. The list was topped by Toyota, Samsung and JB HiFi.

ANZ (ranked 31 in 2015) was the only bank out of the Big Four to move up in ranking - and even then it was just a single spot.

CBA, NAB and Westpac all had very average performances in the past 12 months:
CBA, ranked 30th in 2014 was this year ranked 33rd; NAB was 40 and is now at 41st; and Westpac slid 13 positions to 52nd.

Nevertheless, all Australian banks should find reasons to smile based on a study comparing the banking sector to other major sectors across several economies. The finding by the Reputation Institute in March showed how the banking industry's reputation varies across countries.

Countries where the banking sector received the lowest scores included Spain, Ireland and Portugal, while in Australia the banking industry's reputation was the highest.


When ranked compared to other industries within a country, the banking industry is rated in the middle of the pack in countries such as New Zealand and South Africa, while it is at the bottom in countries such as Spain, UK and the US.