Customers remain loyal to banks

A survey by global market research firm Synovate has found that bank customers across Central/Eastern Europe and the Middle East have shown relatively strong loyalty to their financial institutions despite the negative effect of the global financial crisis on their overall opinion of the banking sector. The survey found that 81% of Saudis expressed a positive view of their local banks, as did 58% in the UAE, 55% in Poland and 54% in Russia, while international banks fared best in the UAE and Saudi Arabia (47% and 46% positive respectively).