About Half of Americans Now Worry About the Safety of Banks

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U.S. adults are as worried about banks in 2023 as they were in 2008. Read on to learn what that means for you. 

If banks are starting to make you nervous, then you’re not alone. In fact, according to a Gallup poll, you wouldn’t even be a minority.

Around 48% of U.S. adults answered that they were either “very worried” (19%) or “moderately worried” (29%) about the money they’ve deposited in banks and other financial institutions. That leaves around 30% of Americans feeling “not too worried,” with 20% feeling “not worried at all.”

Americans haven’t been this worried about the banking system since the financial crisis of 2008. In fact, Gallup conducted a survey in that year — just after Lehman Brothers closed its doors — and found that 45% of U.S. adults were worried about banks, while 41% said they were not too worried or not worried at all.

The survey was conducted between April 3 and April 25, a month after the failure of Silicon Valley and Signature Bank, but just before the failure of First Republic on May 1. But it also listed some interesting demographics that may just shed light on which Americans are feeling the most anxious about their money.

Who’s more worried about banks: Republicans or Democrats?

Easy: Republicans.

Around 55% of Republicans answered that they were very worried (21%) or moderately worried (34%) about the safety of their money. This was slightly higher than the sentiment of Independents (51%), but below that of Democrats: 36% were worried, with 13% feeling very worried and 23% feeling moderately so.

As Gallup pointed out, this was the exact opposite of the same survey conducted in 2008, when Republican President W. Bush was still in office. At that time, 55% of Democrats were very or moderately worried, compared to 34% of Republicans. And if that’s not enough to suggest the power of political beliefs, Gallup also pointed out that Republicans became increasingly more worried about banks (42%) in December 2008 after the election of Barack Obama, while Democratic respondents became slightly less anxious (45%).

Who’s more worried about banks: High- or low-income earners?

Low-income earners (those with annual household incomes below $40,000) are also among the most worried about the current banking situation. Roughly 50% of low-income respondents answered that they were very worried (23%) or moderately worried (27%) about the money in their banks.

High-income households, however, were less anxious. Only 10% of high-income respondents answered that they were”very worried about banks, while 30% said they were moderately worried, 35% said they weren’t too worried, and 25% said they weren’t worried at all.

So should you be worried about putting money in banks?

Most Americans have nothing to worry about. Bank deposits are insured by the FDIC for up to $250,000 per depositor at each FDIC-insured financial institution with the following popular bank products falling under the insured categories:

Checking accountHigh-yield savings accountCertificate of deposit (CD)Money market accounts

What if you have more than $250,000 in bank deposits? Even so, you still don’t have reason to panic. For one, the FDIC will insure $250,000 deposits per bank. So a simple way to increase your security is to separate your money among numerous banks. A deposit of $500,000, for example, could be split between two FDIC-insured financial institutions, while a deposit of $600,000 could be split between three.

But if you jointly own a bank account with someone else, you might not have to move your money at all. The FDIC insures up to $250,000 per depositor. A bank account owned by two people, then, would enjoy FDIC insurance of up to $500,000.

All things considered, I can understand why people are worried about their money: It’s traumatizing to witness the collapse of three mid-size banks. But truth be told, most banks are safe. As long as your deposits are FDIC-insured, that money will be returned to you, even if your bank collapses.

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