Maltese trust their banks more than fellow Europeans

The latest Eurobarometer survey assessing Europeans on data protection issues reveals that a staggering 85% of the Maltese trust private banks with ‘protecting’ their personal data, more than the 75% of Maltese who trust tax authorities with their personal data.

The level of trust enjoyed by banks in Malta is 30 points higher than in the rest of Europe.  

Only 56% of Europeans trust banks and financial institutions with protecting personal information which they store.    

In this aspect the Maltese are more in line with Nordic Europeans than fellow Southern Europeans.

Less than four out of ten people trust banks and financial institutions to protect their personal information in Spain (33%), Greece (34%) and Italy (39%). 

People in the Nordic countries are more likely to have a high level of trust in these institutions, with 93% of people in Finland, 89% in Denmark, and 84% in Sweden expressing trust in banks.

The Maltese are generally less worried than other Europeans about institutions and businesses storing their personal data. While 66% of European trust national tax authorities with their data, the percentage rises to 75% in Malta.

European institutions are also more trusted in Malta than in most other EU countries.  In Malta 62% trust EU institutions with their data but the level of trust falls to 51% among all EU citizens.  European institutions are least trusted with personal data in Greece (41%) Spain (42%) and the UK (44%) and are most trusted in Finland and Belgium (67%).

The least trusted in both Malta and the rest of Europe are online businesses.  Only 27% of  Europeans and 24% of Maltese trust them with on-line data.  

Shops and stores are trusted by a higher percentage in both Malta (43%) and the whole of Europe (40%).

Mobile companies also enjoy a higher trust in Malta than in the EU. Only 33% of European citizens trust mobile companies with their data, but 48% of Maltese trust them. Only 18% of people in Spain and 25% in France trust these companies to protect their personal data.