Nearly half of Americans are nervous about their money in the bank, Gallup survey finds
Nearly half of American adults say they are concerned about the safety of the money they keep in banks
By Matt Egan, CNN
Nearly half of American adults say they are concerned about the safety of the money they keep in banks, according to a Gallup poll released on Thursday.
Gallup said 48% of US adults say they are concerned about the money they have in banks and other financial institutions, including 19% who are “very” worried. Another 29% said they are “moderately” worried.
The findings are similar to those in 2008 during the global financial crisis. In September of that year, following the infamous bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, 45% of US adults said they were very, or moderately, worried about the safety of their money in banks.
Gallup has not surveyed this question since 2008, meaning it’s unclear how public opinion may have shifted since then.
The latest Gallup poll was conducted between April 3 and April 25, following the March 10 failure of Silicon Valley Bank, but prior to this week’s failure of First Republic Bank.
Gallup said worries about banks are higher among Republicans, independents, middle- and lower-income adults and those who don’t have a college degree.
Most Republicans (55%) and independents (51%) say they are at least “moderately” worried about their money in the bank, but just 36% of Democrats said so.
The Gallup survey found that roughly half of Americans with an annual household income below $100,000 are worried, compared with 40% of those with higher income.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. insures bank deposits up to $250,000 per borrower, per bank.
Despite the string of bank failures — three lenders have collapsed in the span of just seven weeks — US officials insist the industry overall remains strong.
“The US banking system is sound and resilient,” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday during a press conference.
Sheila Bair, who led the FDIC during the Great Recession, expressed confidence the banking industry will get through the current stress.
“The vast majority of banks are fine and this is something our system can handle,” Bair told CNN this week.
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