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Banks' reputation fell for the first time in five years, according to the American Banker/Reputation Institute Survey of Bank Reputations. As public perception and trust in both regional and big banks wanes, their Main Street counterparts – credit unions – are seeing a rise in membership.

American Banker quoted Bradley Hecht, a senior managing director with the Reputation Institution, who said, "The trust level of banks has continued to drop relative to what it was before, to the point that less than half of customers and just a quarter of noncustomers give banks the benefit of the doubt in a crisis situation."

Meanwhile, according to the NCUA's first-quarter call report data, federally-insured credit unions saw membership growth accelerate to 4.4 percent in the first quarter, reaching 112.7 million.

"More and more households are joining credit unions, recognizing that they provide the best rates in the marketplace along with superior service," said NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long. "Credit unions' continued growth is confirmation that they remain as committed as ever to serving their members."

The reputation survey also revealed that the overall reputation of banks has declined with both customers and noncustomers and, for the first time ever, "perceptions of a bank's good citizenship became one of the top three drivers of overall reputation among both customers and noncustomers," reported American Banker.

"Credit unions, as member-owned, not-for-profit cooperatives, provide an exceptional model for delivering value to consumers," said Long. "Credit unions have always put their members first, with services such as low minimum balances and fees, and low interest rates on credit cards and loans. The institutions are also a prime example of what it looks like to serve your community."

Earlier this week, Javelin Strategy & Research announced its 2018 Javelin Trust in Banking awards, which ranks 17 of the largest financial institutions based on their account holders' perceptions of reliability and goodwill. This year, NAFCU-member Navy Federal Credit Union was one of the institutions to take top honors.