Big banks falling while local banks stand strong
Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank have both collapsed, proving that you are never too big to fail, but what does that mean for our local banks in South Mississippi?
Recent bank failures may have you wondering if your local bank is still a safe haven for your hard-earned money.
News 25 spoke with officials at Keesler Federal Credit Union and Hancock Whitney and asked what lead to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Keesler Federal Credit Union Chief Financial Officer Sam Sohi said, “I think the ones that have failed are very localized. For example, Silicon Valley Bank, close to 200 billion in total assets that failed in California, and their biggest downfall was because they were very concentrated, their depositors were very concentrated and venture capitalist industries. So as a result, that was their biggest downfall and of course they didn’t have the right internal controls in place.”
Hancock Whitney Chief Consumer Officer Emory Mayfield said, “Silicon Valley Bank had significant exposure to the technology industry. Signature Bank has significant exposure to the crypto industry. Hancock Whitney, on the other hand, is very focused on our strong seasoned and stable deposit base.”
Having a mixed deposit base is one key to having a stable financial institution. Mayfield said, “We literally have hundreds of thousands of accounts that are well diversified amongst our consumer, commercial, and wealth lines of business.”
Sohi said, “We are, unlike some of the banks that you’ve seen that were focused on cryptocurrency, venture capital industries, they’re high risk industries. We cater to the regular households, to the common people.”
Member deposits are insured by FDIC and NCUA, but is your money safe even in a small bank? “Our members are very safe. We cater to the membership. Our members are our stakeholders.”
“This week has been business as usual. We’re actually seeing new business come our way as customers seek out strong and stable banks like Hancock Whitney.”
