Equality and Discrimination 2024

Accessing/Using Financial Institutions

Respondents to the survey were asked about whether they had experienced any discrimination in the two years prior to interview, in using the services of banks, insurance companies, or other financial institutions. 

This covers any service provided by financial institutions, such as:

• Securing finance for a mortgage, loan, repayment facility, etc.
• Applying for/securing a credit card, an overdraft facility, etc.
• Ease of access to the services that they provide, including online (website/app), by phone, in person etc.

One in Twenty-Five Experienced Discrimination with Financial Institutions

At an overall level, 4% of respondents experienced discrimination of some form with financial institutions in the two years prior to interview, unchanged from 2019 when the survey was last carried out. Financial institutions include the services of banks, insurance companies or other financial institutions (See Table 5.1 and Equality and Discrimination 2019).

Age the Most Common Ground for Discrimination when Dealing with Financial Institutions

Age at 38% was by far the most significant ground cited for discrimination experienced in dealings with financial institutions. The next most common ground for discrimination cited was socio-economic background/social status such as your address, accent, level of education, type of housing, employment status, or any other similar circumstance etc. at 24%, followed by race (includes colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins) at 18%. More than one in seven (15%) cited gender (includes gender identity, gender expression, sex characteristics, etc.) as grounds for being discriminated against in financial institutions (See Figure 5.1 and Table 5.3).

Note: Respondents could choose more than one ground for discrimination.

For one in nine (11%) respondents who had experienced discrimination when dealing with financial institutions in the two years prior to interview, the discrimination had occurred frequently. For more than half (55%), the occurrence was less frequent, on a few occasions. For almost three in ten (29%), the discrimination had happened on just one occasion.

For almost half of respondents who had experienced discrimination in their dealings with financial institutions, almost half (49%) said that the discrimination had some effect on their lives, while 18% said it had a serious effect on their lives (See Table 5.3).