Silicon Valley Bank’s stunning failure may have rattled Washington and the markets.
Americans, not so much.
Americans still trust their banks despite the historic run on deposits that caused the bank to collapse. They also trust the government to handle the crisis if their bank fails. And most bank customers say they are at least somewhat confident that their money is safe despite two other bank collapses and warnings that more collapses may come, according to a new survey from decision intelligence company Morning Consult shared exclusively with USA TODAY.
Silicon Valley Bank was widely perceived as a “niche bank,” catering to wealthy venture capitalists, according to Morning Consult financial services analyst Charlotte Principato.
Was Silicon Valley Bank too ‘woke’?:Why Republicans blame collapse on ‘diversity demands’
Silicon Valley Bank political donations:Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank executives gave thousands to Democrats and Republicans
“The average consumer has been able to differentiate what’s happening at SVB from what’s happening at their bank down the street. They don’t see SVB and say: ‘That’s just like my bank.’ That’s why we are seeing relative calm,” Principato told USA TODAY.
Seven in 10 people surveyed said they still have faith in banks. That’s compared to two-thirds of customers who said they trust banks in February, the Morning Consult survey found.
Consumer trust in credit unions was nearly as high with 69% saying they trust those institutions.
That trust remained high despite 65% of the survey respondents saying they believed more banks would be put into receivership by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and may stem from confidence that the government will step in if their bank fails.
Adults with annual household incomes over $100,000 (29%) and Democrats (26%) were more likely to say they’re very confident in the government insulating depositors from a bank collapse.
Most Americans don’t expect the crisis to affect them personally but nearly three-quarters – 73% – said they expected economic fallout.
Some 1 in 3 bank customers said they’re very confident they can withdraw their deposits compared to 5% who said they’re not confident at all, after Silicon Valley Bank, the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history, along with the failures of Signature Bank and Silvergate Capital.
Some 15% have moved all or some of their money to a new bank account or credit union. About 8% to 10% of consumers open and close bank accounts every month, according to Principato.
As concerns grow about smaller banks, Bank of America and other larger institutions have seen an increase in deposits.
