Depositors’ Withdrawal Behaviour in Times of Economic Crisis: A Matter of Trust

A paradigm shift in consumer behaviour has been witnessed as a result of the enormous increase of uncertainty in the global banking industry and the significant disruptions in various financial markets. In a transition economy, like Greece, this shift is translated to consumers’ lost trust in banks and massive increase of deposit withdrawals. This paper presents and tests a model of depositors’ withdrawal behaviour, considering several aspects of consumer attitudes and perceptions. The research results highlight the key role of customers’ expertise, perceived bank’s trustworthiness and economic situation in explaining and managing depositors’ intention to withdraw money from their bank.