These poll numbers were released earlier today by Rasmussen Reports -- "an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information."
Only 42% At Least Somewhat Confident In U.S. Banking System
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Americans continue to express little confidence in the U.S. banking system despite billions in bailout funding, but they're not very worried about their own money in the bank.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 42% are at least somewhat confident in the stability of the banking system while 53% lack confidence.
Those figures include just 6% who are very confident and 10% who are not at all confident.
These findings mark little change from October . In February of last year , confidence fell to a low of 39%. By comparison, 68% were at least somewhat confident in the banking system in July 2008, just before the meltdown of major financial firms on Wall Street .
Still, most adults aren't very worried about the money they have in the bank. Twenty-nine percent (29%) are at least somewhat worried that money they have in the bank will be lost, down 10 points from February of last year. The new finding includes nine percent (9%) who are very worried.
The new numbers, in fact, are comparable to the level of confidence Americans showed in the last survey prior to the Wall Street meltdown in the fall of 2008.
Investors are evenly divided in their assessment of the banking industry: 49% express some degree of confidence, while the identical number (49%) do not. But they're more confident than non-investors.
Adults ages 40 and older have more confidence in the banks than those who are younger. Those who earn more than $100,000 per year are more confident than those in lower income brackets.
Investors and higher-income Americans are also much less worried about the money they have in the bank.
Looking back, most voters still believe the bailout of the financial sector was a bad idea.
That helps to explain why most Americans favor the new effort by President Obama to recover the bailout money by taxing the nation's largest banks . However, most only want the banks who received bailouts to pay the tax, and they think other bailed-out institutions like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac also should be taxed.
Fifty-two percent (52%) oppose more government regulation of the financial sector , up from 47% in June when the president first proposed it to prevent a repeat of the 2008 meltdown. Twenty-eight percent (28%) favor allowing the government more oversight of the financial system.
But 57% say the federal government should place limits on how much banks charge when customers overdraw their bank accounts. However, most also think banks should be allowed to charge a higher amount to customers who frequently overdraw their accounts.