Trust and loyalty are crucial elements to the financial behaviour of the citizens in any economy. This study presents a comparative analysis of the levels of trust and loyalty exhibited towards government financial institutions and private financial institutions. Using theoretical frameworks and secondary data available, surveys and academic literature, this paper explores how citizens perceive public versus private sector banks. Key drivers of trust and loyalty such as transparency, reliability, service quality, technological efficiency, ethical practices and unexpected crisis handling are evaluated. The study will also explore how loyalty is developed over time and influenced by emotional attachment, previous experiences and the institutional performance etc. Findings show that while government institutions are trusted more for stability and safety security and government backing private institutions often gain customer loyalty through superior personalised product and service delivery and their agility. The paper concludes with suggestions for bridging the trust-loyalty gap across this sector and also highlights the implications for policy and strategic management.