Poor performance and the perception of unethical behavior are afew of the reasons why banks and financial services are among thetop sectors that are least trusted by consumers around theworld.

According to the 2013 Edelman Trust Barometer, which measuresthe state of trust worldwide by exploring trust in institutions,industries, leaders and the impact of recent crises in the bankingand financial service sectors, an overall lack of overall trust wasfound in several countries.

The barometer surveyed 26,000 respondents ages 25-64 across 26countries. All respondents were college-educated, had a householdincome in the top quartile for their age in their country, read orwatched business/news media at least several times a week andfollowed public policy issues in the news at least several times aweek.

The data revealed that banks and financial services remained theleast trusted sectors, particularly in Germany (23%), the UnitedKingdom (22%), Spain (19%) and Ireland (11%).

Trust in these sectors reached their lowest point in the U.S.in 2011 and in the UK, France, and Germany in 2012, according toEdelman, the world's largest public relations firm with 66 officesand more than 4,500 employees worldwide.

Over the past two years, trust in banking in the U.S. hasdoubled from its lowest point at 25% in 2011 to 50% in 2013.

With trust in two-thirds of the markets below 50%, trust inbanks, globally, is now 11 points lower than it was in 2008, thedata showed.

The Edelman Trust Barometer found that this lack of trust is drivenby poor performance and the perception of unethical behavior.

“Developed economies rate bank performance much lower thanemerging markets, giving the industry poor grades in its practiceof lending to small businesses and providing home mortgage loans,”the company said.

More than one in two people globally (56%) said they were awareof last year's banking and financial services scandals, including78% in the UK, with 59% saying the cause of those scandals wasbehavior, specifically corruption, poor corporate culture or poorleadership.

“The financial services industry must become more aggressive inexplaining its business model and do away with terms such as'proprietary trading,'” Alan VanderMolen, president/CEO, globalpractices for Edelman, said in a statement. “Stakeholders have tounderstand how banks are making money and how the industry isworking to benefit its shareholders and society.”

Of the top six areas in which banks operate – lending to smallbusiness, providing home mortgage loans, offering credit cards,trading and investing in government debt, ensuring privacy ofpersonal information and overseeing IPOs – in ve of them, fewerthan 40% of informed publics in developed countries rated themdoing well, while the lone holdout, ensuring privacy of personalinformation, still remains below 50%. In emerging countries,privacy is the only area in which trust is more than 50%.

The sectors that garnered the most trust were technology at 77%,automotive, 69%, and nongovernmental organizations, which includehuman rights, environmental and development work, above 50% in 23of the 26 countries tracked by Edelman.

Read more on other findings from the survey.