By Yang Huiwen

THE tumultuous events of the global financial crisis have taken a toll on the reputations of financial industry giants such as Citibank and insurer AIA.

But the crisis has also allowed some local players, notably OCBC and its insurance arm Great Eastern Life, to improve their standing among consumers here.

These are some of the findings of a local survey and ranking of the most reputable consumer brands in Singapore.

Great Eastern's profile was greatly enhanced by a popular move to fully refund customers the cost of investment-linked insurance products which had lost much of their value.

Parent OCBC basked in the reflected glory, surging from fourth position last year to second in the retail bank category, while Citibank, last year's No. 2 bank, slumped to fifth place.

Still, DBS Bank seemed to be unaffected by the crisis. Despite negative publicity over the way it handled the ill-fated High Notes saga and the way it retrenched about 900 staff, DBS retained pole position as the most reputable retail bank.

This could be due to its strong presence and financial muscle, said Mr P.N. Balji, director of Asia Journalism Fellowship at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University.

In the life insurance category, Great Eastern rose to the No. 1 spot from No. 2 last year, while AIA fell from first to fourth position after its parent AIG faced major headaches in the financial crisis.

The results 'reflect the public's perception that good customer service helps a company boost its credibility and reputation', said Mr John Lim, chief executive of Reputation Management Associates, which commissioned the survey.

'Companies that take care of their customers and their staff can see halo effects on their reputations,' he said.

The study, in its fourth year, polled 197 respondents aged between 20 and 69 in September and October. It was carried out by independent research company Aileen S. Lee and Associates.

Respondents also felt that providing good customer service and valuing employees remain the two criteria for a good corporate reputation.

In addition, good corporate governance and transparency also gain importance during a financial crisis, the survey showed.

NTUC Income, Shell and SingTel retained their top spot in the general insurance, energy and telco categories respectively.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.