New public opinion research released Tuesday by the Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) reveals that the large majority of Canadians have positive feelings about the banking sector in this country (81 per cent) and their individual banks (90 per cent).

The results suggest that the strong positive ratings are linked to a sense of value for money as new technologies make banking more convenient as well as the fact that Canada’s banks held up well during the global economic crisis that affected other banks in other parts of the world.

“Banks have been making great strides in helping Canadians bank whenever they want to, and wherever they are. Leading edge innovations in technology make it possible for people to save time and appreciate the value for money in banking services,” said Terry Campbell, president of the CBA.

“What’s more, consumers also have a high degree of trust in their banks to maintain their security and protect their personal information.”

According to the survey, 71 per cent of respondents say that banking technologies improve the convenience of banking, and 76 per cent believe that banks do a good job of protecting their privacy.

The survey was conducted by Abacus Data for the CBA. The findings are based on a telephone survey with a randomly selected, nationally representative sample of 1007 adult Canadians, 18 years of age or older, and are accurate within plus or minus 3.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Respondents were interviewed between Nov. 30 and Dec. 12, 2013.