A recent Gallup poll has revealed that nearly half of Americans are concerned about the safety of their bank deposits. The survey, which was conducted a month after the collapse of two major banks, found that 19% of respondents were ‘very worried’ about the fate of their finances, while another 29% were ‘moderately’ worried. These results are similar to those reported by Gallup in 2008 following the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
The survey also revealed that Republicans were more likely to voice concern about the safety of their money, with 55% reporting they were worried, compared to 51% of independents and just 36% of Democrats. Americans making less than $100,000 per year were slightly more likely to worry about whether their money was safe in the bank than those making more, despite the fact that wealthier individuals’ deposits would be more likely to exceed the $250,000 covered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Gallup hypothesized that worrying about whether one’s bank deposits were safe was due to ignorance of the FDIC safety net, though the pollster acknowledged that distrust in government might also be a factor. Nearly 200 American banks face similar risks to those that recently collapsed, according to a recent paper from the Social Science Research Network, and former Lehman Brothers VP Lawrence McDonald has warned that deposit guarantees would have to be increased to stabilize the sector.
US President Joe Biden has insisted that there is nothing wrong with the country’s banking sector but has promised to extend FDIC protection beyond the $250,000 cap if necessary.
