Study reveals current opinions break away from political stereotypes

NEW YORK, May 26 /PRNewswire/ -- GfK Financial Services, a division of GfK Custom Research North America, today announced highlights from a new OmniWeb survey that reveals almost half of Americans (42%) prefer the government take a less significant role in the financial services industry.  Comparatively, only 26% of respondents say they'd like to see more government involvement.

Political Lines Blurring... Blue States Align with Red

Surprisingly, "blue states" are in agreement with their Republican counterparts when it comes to government involvement in the financial services industry.  In fact, more respondents on the predominately Democratic West coast report they would prefer to see a lighter federal hand in Wall Street affairs (46%) than their "red state" neighbors in the Midwest (44%) and the South (41%). Additionally, over one third (36%) of Americans who live in the Northeast also prefer less government involvement.  To compare, 28% of respondents in the Northeast say they'd actually like to see more of a federal presence as well as 27% in the West, 25% in the Midwest and 23% in the South.

Across the Demographics... Americans Want Less

More men (46%) than women (39%) say they prefer less government involvement in the financial services industry.  Additionally, while respondents across all age groups agreed they'd like to see less of Uncle Sam on Wall Street, Americans 65 and older were more likely to prefer less government involvement (54%) than younger generations (34% among 18-to 24-year-olds).  Results also show that households with the highest reported annual income ($75,000 plus) actually prefer more government involvement (38%) than any other income segment (25% among households that make less than $20,000 annually).

"With the slow economic recovery, the sheen is off the federal stimulus packages," explains Douglas Cottings, Managing Director of GfK Financial Services.  "Americans are growing weary and earning back their trust in Wall Street and Washington is still a major sticking point.  To help turn the tide, it's critical for financial companies to refocus their time and resources on first repairing the damage to their reputation in order to win back consumer confidence."

Additional survey findings will be released at the Life Insurance and Market Research Association (LIMRA) Marketing and Research Conference in Orlando, Florida as part of the June 4th presentation, "Winners and Losers: Recession Impact on Perceptions of Companies."

About GfK Financial Services

A division of GfK Custom Research North America, GfK Financial Services is a leading provider of market research to the global financial services industry.  With focused expertise in traditional and non-traditional financial service industries, clients of GfK Financial Services include retail and commercial banks, credit card companies, investment banks, brokerage and securities firms, property and casualty insurers, life and health insurers, asset managers, consumer finance companies and other diversified financial institutions, as well as their trade and professional associations.  By qualifying and quantifying what the stakeholders of their clients need and value, GfK Financial Services partners with financial institutions to rethink assumptions and identify strategies for business improvement.

About GfK Custom Research North America

Headquartered in New York, GfK Custom Research North America is part of the GfK Group.  The GfK Group offers the fundamental knowledge that industry, retailers, services companies and the media need to make market decisions.  It delivers a comprehensive range of information and consultancy services in three business sectors Custom Research, Retail and Technology and Media.  The no. 4 market research organization worldwide operates in more than 100 countries and employs over 10,000 staff.  In 2009, the GfK Group's sales amounted to EUR 1.16 billion.  For more information, visit www.gfkamerica.com.  Follow us at www.gfkinsights4u.com or on Twitter @gfkamerica.

SOURCE GfK Financial Services

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