A new poll shows that nearly one in six Americans has moved money out of their bank account in the past two weeks.
Key Details
- 16% of Americans moved some or all of their money in response to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on March 10, according to a new poll from Morning Consultant.
- Of the Americans who moved money, 36% of those who moved their money did so into a national bank.
- 22% of U.S. adults say national banks are the safest place to store money.
- 5% of the total respondents have recently changed their primary banking provider, and 23% are considering seeking out a new bank within six months.
- Survey respondents also said they moved money into investments—10% into stocks, 10% into crypto, 7% into gold and silver, and 5% into bonds.
Why It’s Important
As we previously reported, the U.S. has faced two of the most chaotic weeks in banking history following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. That subsequently caused the collapse of Silvergate Bank and Signature Bank and required First Capitol to be bailed out. The Federal Reserve has loaned $153 billion in bailouts.
This turmoil unsurprisingly raised the number of Americans seeking a new bank by 8%, but fear wasn’t the sole reaction to the collapse. As Morning Consult notes, many customers saw financial opportunities in other banks. They chose to uproot for benefits—marking a decided change from the habits of most post-2008 consumers who tend to be relatively tied to a specific ban.
Notable Quote
“While financial services leaders can rest assured that their customers tend to keep calm heads during challenging news events and maintain trust in their primary banking providers, they should not remain complacent, as there’s always a dormant group of bank-switchers. Thoughts of switching have risen,” says Morning Consultant
Backing Up A Bit
The repercussions of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank continue to be felt across the globe, having ushered in one of the largest banking crises since the 2008 financial meltdown and nearly causing a cascade effect that could have destroyed hundreds of regional banks and harmed major financial institutions without federal intervention.
Major banks like JP Morgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Morgan Stanley are far from immune, having collectively lost $55 billion in market value in one day in response. The chaos was subsequently followed by Switzerland’s Credit Suisse nearly collapsing, requiring federal bailouts to prevent a global financial crisis.
