Following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank last week and Signature Bank over the weekend, the U.S. government has kicked into overdrive to avert a potential crisis in the banking world. The Treasury Department, Federal Reserve, and FDIC have ensured the protection of all SVB clients and deposits and announced plans to safeguard against future bank runs. President Biden assured no taxpayer dollars would aid in recovering from the collapse and that “Americans can have confidence that the banking system is safe.”
But how do Americans feel about the current state of banking? CivicScience is constantly tracking American trust in banks, and the past week has shown a noticeable uptick in adults reporting they trust banks ‘not very much’ or ‘not at all’ (up to 38% from 34% last week). The percentage with at least some trust slid to its lowest point since last September (62%).
Among U.S. adults familiar with the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, just 22% express the highest level of concern for potential economic consequences – but 73% rate at least ‘somewhat concerned.’ More Americans familiar with the collapse are ‘not at all concerned’ (26%) than are ‘very concerned.’
That said, a plurality of Americans familiar with the SVB collapse (43%) are ‘very confident’ in their personal bank right now – more than double those who are ‘not confident at all’ (16%). But crypto investors or intending investors are less likely than non-investors to report being ‘very confident’ in their personal bank right now (37% compared to 45% for non-investors) – and crypto investors are more than twice as likely to say they are ‘not confident at all.’
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