Nearly half of Americans do not trust banks. That is the title of a survey conducted by Gallup amid the collapse of several financial institutions in recent months. The survey was conducted between April 3 and April 25, one month after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. In addition, the release coincided with another interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
The survey found that 48% are worried about having their money in the bank, which breaks down to 19% who are "very worried" and 29% who are "moderately worried." In addition, 30% are "not too concerned," and 20% are "not at all concerned."
The poll was launched days after the collapse of First Republic Bank, which went into receivership with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and was sold by regulators to JPMorgan Chase. Turbulence had also reached other regional banks, such as PacWest, Zions, Comerica and Western Alliance. The banking sector, in general, is still trying to regain balance on the heels of the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank a few months ago.
In terms of ideology, Republicans and Independents were more alert than Democrats. Most of those who identified with the GOP said they were moderately concerned, as were 51% of independents. The numbers contrasted with those of 2008 when the financial crisis broke out during the administration of George W. Bush.
The equation was reversed then, as 55% of Democrats were very or moderately concerned, compared to 34% of Republicans.
When measuring the level of concern by the level of education, those with a university degree were the least concerned, with a total of 36%. On the other hand, those with no higher education placed their concern at 54%. Finally, in terms of income, half of Americans with an annual household income of less than $100,000 expressed concern about their money, contrasting with 40% of those with even higher incomes.
