With banks failing across the nation at a rate that makes the 2008 financial meltdown look like child’s play, people are becoming increasingly concerned about the ability of the banks to protect their money. After the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, it was time for Gallup to dust off the survey from the last time things got this bad in 2008.
14 years ago, 45% of US adults said they were at least moderately concerned about their money. Now, that number has reached 48%. With a 15-year gap between the surveys and it not being repeated in other years, it’s impossible to say that people have remained this concerned and not just grown this concerned again.
Considering that the survey was taken during the crux of the subprime housing mortgage crash, it’s not surprising the American people were lacking confidence in 2008. Without such a sharp dive, the American people shouldn’t be too worried. These two banks were yet again “too big to fail,” and they took risks on crypto even compulsive gamblers avoid.
In their follow-on report, Gallup said, “After several recent high-profile bank failures in the U.S., about half of Americans are concerned about the safety of the money they have in banks or other financial institutions. This is on par with the level of worry measured during the financial crisis in 2008 when financial institutions previously believed to be ‘too big to fail’ collapsed.”
While 55% of the Republican respondents were concerned, that number is likely lower than expected due to a strong investment portfolio. The 51% confidence rate from Independents is willfully surprising, but given their propensity to invest based upon fact and not politics, they are likely doing better than many.
