HARTFORD, Conn. — Two bank failures across the nation have a lot of people concerned about their own money. The failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank are the largest American bank failures since the 2008 financial crisis.
President and CEO of the Credit Union League of Connecticut Bruce Adams said this naturally raises questions about the impact here at home.
“Every time there is a blip or a road bump or something in the financial sector, people naturally start thinking about their money,” said Adams.
He said people in Connecticut shouldn’t panic.
“Connecticut consumers whether they are at a credit union or a bank can rest assured that those institutions are run safely and the money is still there,” said Adams.
He said this is because most banks are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) which means the money in bank accounts is protected by up to $250,000.
Connecticut has seen a handful of its own banks collapse through the years - 43 to be exact since 1989. But the University of New Haven senior lecturer Brian A. Marks said these are different times now with the FDIC protection.
“The bank failures in the past in Connecticut, there’s a different history. There’s a different context,” said Marks.
They both said the collapse in these two banks has people talking about other major challenges facing the U.S. economy like the Federal Reserve meeting to announce what they will be doing with interest rates this week.
“The thing to watch is what are the comments from the chairman J. Powell. That will give us a better indicator of what they think will happen in the future,” said Adams.
Now, federal officials will have to make their next move against a backdrop of banking system instability.
“There are a lot of dynamics going on here in this economy in this present moment so Wednesday will be an exciting day,” said Marks.
Adams said that this is a good time to sit down with your bank or credit union and talk to them about your finances if you’re concerned about anything and to get a good understanding of your finances.
DeAndria Turner is a multi-media journalist at FOX61 News. She can be reached at dturner@fox61.com.
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