When choosing a bank, you’ll want to find one best suited to your financial needs. Not only will you need to consider what type of account you want to open, whether it be a CD, high-yield savings account, or money market account, and whether or not your money will be safe. Choosing one of the most well-trusted banks is likely to be high on your list of criteria to help guide your decision.
For the past 10 years, Lifestory has undertaken a large-scale survey of consumers in the United States with the goal to identify the brands that people trust the most per industry sector. For the 2022 America's Most Trusted® Bank Study, 17,614 people took part in the study, evaluating banks throughout the course of the year. Trust is measured by the Lifestory Research Net Trust Quotient, which is determined by consumer answers to several questions about their impression of each bank, including how trustworthy they believed it to be. An index score of 100 is average for bank brands.
For the third consecutive year, Chase was the overall most trusted bank in the study. However, Chase didn't feature in Kiplinger's most recent ranking of best national banks, which takes into account a number of criteria (as well as the trustworthiness of an institution). It will be interesting to see if it features in Kiplinger's Reader's Choice Awards, the results of which will be announced in the summer. Kiplinger's review had TD Bank as the winner. TD Bank did feature in Lifestory's study, coming in as a very respectable fifth-most-trusted bank.
Star Legend for Lifestory Research 2022 America's Most Trusted Study 5 stars (most trusted) - 2 stars (least trusted)
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How to keep your money safe
When placing your money in a savings account, regardless of the type, you’ll want to make sure your cash is federally protected. Before opening a bank account, whether it's a CD, high-yield savings account, or money market account, make sure it is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., and if opening an account with a credit union, check to see if it is NCUA insured. This will insure your money is protected, up to a certain amount, in the case your bank goes under.
FDIC insurance covers up to $250,000 in individual deposit accounts and up to $250,000 for each person’s share of joint accounts. NCUA insurance covers up to $250,000 per credit union member (whether in an individual or a joint account).
Erin pairs personal experience with research and is passionate about sharing personal finance advice with others. Previously, she was a freelancer focusing on the credit card side of finance, but has branched out since then to cover other aspects of personal finance. Erin is well-versed in traditional media with reporting, interviewing and research, as well as using graphic design and video and audio storytelling to share with her readers.
