45% Confident In Stability Of U.S. Banking Industry

Trust in the U.S. banking industry has steadily slipped over the past three months, and the number of Americans that lack confidence now outweighs the number that is confident.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American Adults shows that just 45% are at least somewhat confident in the stability of the U.S. banking system, the lowest finding since February. Fifty-three percent (53%) are not confident in the system. These findings include just nine percent (9%) who are Very Confident and 16% who are Not At All Confident. (To see survey question wording, click here.) 

Last month, Americans were more evenly divided on the question: while 48% were confident in the banking system, 47% were not. 

Confidence remains well below the high of 68% in July 2008.  When news of the troubled financial sector broke in September of that year, 64% still had confidence in the banking industry, but confidence fell rapidly after that to hit a low of 39% in February 2009. 

Thirty-seven percent (37%) of adults are at least somewhat worried about losing the money they have in the bank due to a bank failure, with 11% who are Very Worried. Most (59%) are not worried about losing their money in the bank, with 21% who are not worried at all.

These findings have remained in a narrow range since July 2008. 

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The survey of 1,000 Adults nationwide was conducted on July 11-12, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.