Halifax loses most-trusted mortgage lender title

HALIFAX, part of HBOS which had to be rescued by Lloyds TSB, has had its most-trusted mortgage lender position taken over by Nationwide in an annual trusted-brand survey by the magazine Reader's Digest.

Lloyds TSB – now Lloyds Banking Group – was voted most-trusted bank or building society, while Tesco was the most-trusted food retailer (for the eighth year running), as well as petrol retailer.

Meanwhile, British Airways has again been voted the UK's most trusted airline, showing the carrier has recovered from last year's disastrous opening of Terminal 5 at Heathrow airport. BA comfortably beat Virgin Atlantic to the title.

Other winners included Cadbury for chocolate, Boots for cosmetics, Kellogg's for breakfast cereal, Thomson for holidays and Canon for cameras.

In terms of trust, the AA was the top motoring organisation, British Gas the best utility company and Barclaycard the best credit card company.

The results were based on responses from more than 1,700 UK consumers who were asked about brands across 37 different categories.

Reader's Digest's managing director, Chris Spratling, said: "

For every major brand the world over, trust is the primary driver lying behind every consumer's purchase decision."