Small Banks Did Not See Disruption Following Recent SVB, Signature Failures

Staff Report

Thursday, May 4th, 2023

Most community banks experienced little residual fallout from the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, according to a new survey released today by fintech IntraFi.

The survey of more than 550 unique banks found that 77% of the institutions surveyed saw no change in deposits in the immediate aftermath of the two March failures. During that time, only 14% of banks surveyed reported outflows of deposits of at least 2%, while 9% instead saw deposits rise. The survey was conducted prior to the May 1 failure of First Republic Bank.

"It has been mostly business as usual for community banks," said Mark Jacobsen, Cofounder and CEO of IntraFi. "The survey shows just how unique some of these banks' business models were, with a heavy reliance on uninsured deposits."

The vast majority of banks hold less than 35% of uninsured deposits, according to the survey, compared with Silicon Valley Bank, which had 94% of its deposits uninsured, and Signature, which had 89%. First Republic Bank had 67% of its total deposits uninsured at yearend.

Following the two March failures, sixty-eight percent of banks surveyed reported an increase in customer calls about the safety of their deposits, but bankers were able to reassure them. Sixty-two percent of banks said they are working to educate customers on how to access greater levels of deposit insurance.

The Federal Reserve launched a new funding program designed to alleviate liquidity concerns at banks following the failures of SVB and Signature, but the survey found that only 18% of banks took advantage of it.