Local Bank: System Still Secure, No Reason For Panic

By Curt Hills | Daily Sun Managing Editor | February 26, 2022
 

Global conflict stirring misinformation, yet banks here have countless security measures, audits.

 

Financial institution leaders are firm in saying your deposits are safe in U.S. banks, a highly regulated and monitored industry. Misinformation alongside global conflict is unnecessarily stoking panic and anxiety among some banking customers.

News accounts of banking issues and cybersecurity attacks in Ukraine are front and center headlines. It’s likely the culprit for shared messages here locally encouraging people to drastic actions with their accounts. Citizens First Bank president Lindsey Blaise said no action is necessary. Blaise shares why bank customers should not be panicked.

How is the U.S. banking system drastically different than Ukraine’s system?

The U.S. banking system is really the most robust banking system in the world. That’s because of the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system in the U.S. and the vast number of private banks.

There are protections in place because there are so many players, from the large corporate banks down to the small, community banks. It’s not a single government-run, monopoly banking system. We’re much different than what’s going on in Ukraine.

How reassuring is it to have deposits insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)?

The FDIC has been in existence for 88 years. During that time, we’ve never had a single penny lost from any banking failure.

Is there a lot of scrutiny for our nation’s banking system to show its secure?

Banks are heavily regulated. There are both internal and external audits that we must go through that look at these types of things like a cyber attack. We look at things like loss of power and we are constantly asked to demonstrate how we will continue as an industry to serve customers under those circumstances. We run through the ‘What if Scenarios.’