Roll out the welcome mat! Consumer confidence in banks is up.

• Position: MARKETING NEWS - Brief article

CONSUMERS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YEARS are starting to express more confidence in U.S. banks, according to a recent Gallup poll.

The percentage of Americans saying that they have either "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in banks was at 26 percent in June compared with a record low of 21 percent a year earlier, according to the polling organization, which has its headquarters in Princeton, N.J.

The change in perception suggests that now might be a good time for marketers to build on and create momentum for increasing Americans' confidence in banks.

"Americans' perceptions of their banking system generally take a long time to change--as is illustrated by the slow recovery in bank confidence ratings after the savings and loan crisis of the late '80s and early '90s," notes Dennis Jacobe, Gallup's chief economist...