Almost half in new poll concerned about their money's safety in banks
Almost half of the adults in a new survey say they are growing more anxious about the safety of their money in banks, showing the impact that a string of high-profile bank failures has had on Americans.
As the banking sector has been rocked by turbulence, 48 percent of U.S. adults are now worried about the safety of their money in banks in the country, according to the Gallup poll released Thursday. At the same time, 50 percent of respondents said they are not too worried or not worried at all about the safety of their money.
The survey, conducted April 3 to April 25, comes after the fall of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank earlier this year sent shockwaves through the U.S. banking system and wider economy. The poll was conducted before First Republic Bank was seized by federal regulators and sold to JPMorgan earlier this week, marking yet another financial institution going under.
But federal regulators have taken aggressive measures to try to ensure confidence in the banking sector. When Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank folded earlier this year, officials moved to federally insure all deposits at the institutions, going far beyond the mandated $250,000 for each depositor.
Despite the moves to strengthen financial backstops, the Gallup polling shows that public attitude is similar to levels ahead of the 2008 financial crisis. In September 2008, shortly after the astonishing fall of Lehman Brothers, 45 percent of respondents were worried about the safety of their money.
The new polling also shows an ideological divergence between those who are worried and those who aren’t. Republicans are more likely to be worried about the safety of their money, with 55 percent of them being either very worried or moderately worried. Just 36 percent of Democrats are worried.
A 51 percent majority of independents responded as worried as well.
The Gallup poll included responses from 1,013 adults, and had a margin of error of 4 percentage points.