Public opinion of banks appears to be weakening, according to an April survey, as the industry struggles to contain the failure of several high-profile financial institutions in recent months.
In an April Gallup poll of at least 1,000 respondents in the United States, 48 percent said they were worried about money in the bank, and nearly 20 percent said they were "very concerned. It should be noted, however, that this poll was condu cted After the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, but before the collapse of First Republic Bank in late April.
Gallup concluded that the level of concern was comparable to levels measured during the last bank-induced financial crisis in 2008, "when financial institutions previously considered 'too big to fail' failed." "The latest readings are similar to those in 2 008. That September, shortly after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, it remains the largest bankruptcy filing in US history."
Meanwhile, experts at the Hoover Institution think tank speculated that 186 US banks would be at “potential impairment risk” if half of all uninsured depositors withdrew all their cash.
These banks have combined assets of $300 billion but represent less than 5% of the estimated 4,135 FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)-insured commercial banks in the United States. Additionally, California-based PacWest, Arizona-based Western Union and Memphis-based First Horizon are reported up in the air after stock prices plummeted last week.
Earlier this month, Britain's Telegraph newspaper published a more scathing report suggesting that half of US banks may be insolvent. It cites research published in April by Stanford University banking expert Amit Seru, who estimated that more than 2,315 US banks are currently worth less than their liabilities. "The market value of assets in the US banking system is $2.2 trillion lower than the book value of assets in their held-to-maturity portfolios would suggest," he said.
