Customers worry about their banks' survival

As British banks write off humungous sums related to the American sub-prime mortgage fallout, customers weigh up their banks' abilities to weather the credit turmoil.

Britain's most worried bank customers

One in seven customers (14%) is not convinced that their bank won't go bust, according to a banks customer confidence poll by money website Fool.co.uk.

However, fear of the unknown can play unwelcome tricks on our better judgment. For instance, one in four customers (27%) of Abbey (which also owns Cahoot) expresses concern, even though it is part of Banco Santander - the third biggest bank in Europe.

Two in five Alliance & Leicester customers (37%) are fretful that it may not survive the credit crisis too. Customers of HBOS (which owns Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Intelligent Finance) also worry about their banks' abilities to ride out the credit drought. One in five HBOS clients (21%) say they are worried their bank may not survive.

Britain's least worried bank customers

Of the "Big 5" banks, customers of Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Barclays are some of the least anxious. Only around 10% of the big three banks' customers are worried, while one in seven Lloyds TSB customers (14%) feel uncomfortable.

Young and carefree

Bank customers between 18 and 25 years of age are some of the most laid back - only a tenth (10%) of young customers are anxious. This contrasts with half as many more people (16%) over the age of 50 who are frightened their banks will go bust.

David Kuo, Head of Personal Finance at Fool.co.uk, says: "Banks can play a huge part in calming customers and avert a run on another British bank. We therefore urge them to come clean over the size of bail-out that they accept from the Bank of England's special liquidity scheme.

"Under the scheme, the Central Bank will pump over £50 billion of taxpayers' money into the credit market in exchange for mortgage debt. But it is vital that banks remember it is taxpayers' money they are accepting.

"They need to bear in mind that their solvency depends on their perceived solvency. In other words, any bank can encounter problems if enough customers believe it may be in trouble, as seen with Northern Rock. It isn't what people say that's damaging, but what they whisper."