If you're trusting your banker, stock broker or financial adviser a little less these days, rest assured you're not alone.

The meltdown of the nation's financial system and seemingly constant flow of negative economic news has consumers in Utah and the rest of the country reining in their discretionary spending -- and their trust.

A recent survey by Siegel + Gale, a New York global branding and marketing company, found that compared with sentiments a year ago, consumers are 37 percent less likely to trust their mortgage lender, 36 percent less likely to trust their broker or financial adviser and 35 percent less likely to trust their banks. And that has sparked a bit of self-examination on the part of many Utahns who give financial advice for a living.

"To me those numbers are more of a reflection of the loss of confidence in the [stock] market in general," said Brent Bennett, a partner and financial adviser with Spectra Management, a Salt Lake City-based employee benefits consulting firm. "But they also indicate that, more than ever, we need to make sure we're as upfront as possible about what we're doing -- the fees we're charging our clients and the basis of the advice we're giving."

Given the sharp decline in the stock market -- the Dow Jones industrial average on Friday closed at 7,278.38, down 48 percent from its high above 14,000 in October 2007 -- and the impact on many retirement accounts, it is little wonder distrust among consumers and investors has grown.

It is one reason Salt Lake City bar owner Jason Rasmussen does most of his personal financial business with a small credit union.

"It is nice to do business with people you know," Rasmussen said. "And it's nice that if you have any questions that they're willing to go out of the way to help you."

For Alan Siegel, the chairman and chief executive of Siegel + Gale, there may be a "silver lining" to the recent financial meltdown.

Siegel noted in a statement discussing the poll results that the majority of those surveyed think financial firms deliberately foster complexity to hide risks or keep people in the dark. He suggested there now is an opportunity for Americans to fight for "transparent services and interactions that are simple and understandable."

Bankers, financial advisers and stockbrokers may have some work to do to win back the confidence of the nation's consumers.

"I never had much to invest, and never had a 401(k)," said August Honore, a 67-year-old retiree living on Social Security in Salt Lake City. "And I'll tell you what, the way things are now, I'm glad I was never in the position to have to trust any of them."

Sterling Jenson, senior managing director of Wells Fargo Capital Management in Salt Lake City, said the steep decline in the stock market has created a lot of angst among investors.

For some, it has sparked a flight to safety. Wells Fargo Bank has seen an influx of deposits from worried investors, Jenson said. They have been lured to the bank because it is viewed as among the safest and least troubled financial institutions, he said.

At Spectra Management, Bennett said that in trying to assuage client concerns, he goes to great lengths to be upfront about the market and the economy.

"We try to give them as much information as possible about how the market performed in the past and how it might turn out. And then we'll talk about their options with them."