Most Americans oppose the FDIC making exceptions to bail out big depositors if a banking crisis were to take place.
WHY IT MATTERS- Over the past few months, Silicon Valley-elected leaders called vocally for uninsured depositors of Silicon Valley Bank to be made whole — to be bailed out by the federal government. In the end, they got what they wanted.
When a bank fails, depositors are made whole by the FDIC insurance fund. The insurance only covers deposits up to $250,000, although plenty of workarounds allow depositors to effectively buy much more FDIC insurance than that.
THE NUMBERS – A recent survey of 1,000 likely general election voters by the Convention of States Action, in partnership with The Trafalgar Group asked Americans how they feel about the recent bank rescues.
When asked, “Do you think that the FDIC should use its reserve fund to pay some bank depositors millions of dollars each when they were only insured up to $250,000 per account?” respondents concluded,
- 70.1 percent – say the FDIC should not use its own reserve funds to pay some depositors millions of dollars when they were only insured for the standard $250,000 limit.
- 16.8 percent – say the FDIC should use its own reserve funds to pay some depositors millions of dollars when they were only insured for the standard $250,000 limit.
- 13.1 percent – are not sure.
PARTY BREAKDOWN – Overall, the survey revealed there is little support for the FDIC using reserve funds. The below party breakdown shares the findings:
Republicans:
- 85.3 percent of Republican voters say the FDIC should not use its own reserve funds to pay some depositors millions of dollars when they were only insured for the standard $250,000 limit.
- 8.1 percent say FDIC should use its reserve.
- 6.6 percent are not sure.
Democrats:
- 51.4 percent of Democratic voters say the FDIC should not use its own reserve funds to pay some depositors millions of dollars when they were only insured for the standard $250,000 limit.
- 26.2 percent say FDIC should use its reserve.
- 22.4 percent are unsure.
Independents:
- 69.7 percent of independent voters say the FDIC should not use its reserve funds to pay some depositors millions when they were only insured for the standard $250,000 limit.
- 18.2 percent say FDIC should use its reserve.
- 12.1 percent are not sure.
BOTTOM LINE- An American majority supports FDIC not using its reserve funds to pay some depositors millions of dollars when they were only insured for the standard $250,000 limit. Most taxpayers are also bank depositors, and some portion of their bank deposits is used to fund the FDIC, in what feels much like an involuntary tax being levied by a government agency.
GO DEEPER-
Trafalgar Group – National Survey – FDIC