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Almost six out of ten (57 per cent) people will believe negative information about a company if they previously distrusted it while only 15 per cent will believe positive news, according to the latest Edelman Trust Barometer.

Mistrust is greater in the United Kingdom, where 27 per cent of people would need to hear positive news about a mistrusted company at least six times before they will believe the message.

Trust in business within the UK remained stable at 44 per cent while trust in banks fell to 16 per cent, down 30 percentage points over the past three years. 

Trust in the media has fallen 12 percentage points to 21 per cent over the same period, while just one in five people in the UK trust financial services firms.

Richard Edelman, president and chief executive of Edelman, said: 'Trust in business may have stabilised globally, but it is different and conditional, premised on what a company does and how it communicates.

'Trust has transformed the licence to operate for business. Company actions must deliver on the expectation for a collaborative approach that benefits society - not just shareholders - transparency about how it makes money, and communication in surround sound through all forms of media, from mainstream to new to social to owned.'

Trust, transparency and employee welfare are the most important drivers of corporate reputation, while a company's financial performance is tied at the bottom of ten factors. Indeed, 82 per cent of people in the UK believe that the government must regulate corporate activity to ensure business behaves responsibly.

Despite some disastrous public performances by some company leaders, such as former BP boss Tony Haywood, chief executives now rank among the most credible spokesman. One in two people believe chief executives to be the most trusted spokesman, up from just 31 per cent two years ago. Robert Phillips, Edelman's UK chairman, attributes this rise to 'a thirst for leadership, reassurance and a safe pair of hands in the post crisis world'.

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