A new survey, commissioned by campaign group Positive Money, has found that 66% of the British public do not trust banks to work in the best interests of society.

The poll, conducted by YouGov, surveyed 2,250 adults across Great Britain.

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Only 20% of the people said that the banks work in the best interests of UK society, another 13% said that they don’t know.

The Positive Money survey also revealed that majority of the people feel that the banks did not face sufficient penalties for their involvement in the 2007-08 crisis.

The findings were announced ahead of the tenth anniversary of the bankruptcy of financial services firm Lehman Brothers, an event often regarded as the start of the global financial crisis. This also began the trend of consumers not wanting to trust banks.

About 72% of the respondents said that the banks should have faced stricter penalties. 12% opined that the lenders faced the right amount.

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Nearly 17% of the respondents expressed concerns that the banks may cause another financial crisis. Nearly one-fourth (24%) of the respondents said they are not very worried. However, only 3% stated not being worried at all.

Positive Money executive director Fran Boait said: “Despite the financial sector’s complacency, people know that nothing has really changed since the last crisis.

“As in the run up to the 2008 crash, banks are still making most of their money from gambling on property and other financial assets, paying themselves huge bonuses while things have got worse for everyone else.

“The tenth anniversary of the crisis must be an opportunity to change the banking sector so it works in the best interests of society.”