June 3 (Bloomberg) -- More than half of those questioned in a global poll said corruption exists in the private sector, an increase from five years ago and a signal that the financial crisis has dimmed the public’s views of business.

Fifty-three percent of respondents in Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer said they believe private-sector institutions are corrupt or “extremely” corrupt, up from 45 percent of those asked by the group in 2004.

“These results show a public sobered by a financial crisis precipitated by weak regulations and a lack of corporate accountability,” Huguette Labelle, Transparency International’s chairwoman, said in a statement on the anti-corruption group’s Web site.

The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression has prompted calls to increase transparency in business and financial services. Private-sector sleaze in their own countries was viewed as the worst form of corruption by respondents in Canada, Hong Kong, Iceland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Singapore, Spain and Switzerland, the poll showed.

Leaders from the Group of 20 nations have stepped up calls for increased transparency by credit-rating companies, tax havens and in financial regulation as part of efforts to stanch economic collapse and spur growth.

Although the poll showed an increase in the percentage of respondents detecting corruption in the private sector, government-related institutions such as legislatures and political parties fared worse, at roughly the same level as in 2004. Some 61 percent perceived legislatures as corrupt, while 69 percent found corruption in parties, according to the poll.

The financial crisis, which started with the collapse of the U.S. property market in 2007, has sent the global economy into its first recession since World War II.

Berlin-based Transparency International asked 73,132 people in 69 countries to take part in the poll between October and February. The group’s major project is the annual Corruption Perceptions Index, which ranks countries by their reputation for corruption. The composite of polls reflects the views of business people and analysts.

To contact the reporter on this story: Patrick Donahue in Berlin at at pdonahue1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 3, 2009 04:00 EDT