Voters Support Bank Reforms in the Wake of Silicon Valley Bank’s Collapse
By Kevin Hanley
On March 10, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a lender to some of the biggest technology and startup companies, became the largest bank to fail since the Great Recession. In light of the collapse of SVB, Data for Progress, in collaboration with the Progressive Change Institute, conducted a survey investigating voters' support for tougher banking regulations.
Over two-thirds of voters (69 percent) report being “very concerned” or “somewhat concerned” about the health of the banking industry in the U.S. following SVB’s collapse. And voters overwhelmingly support congressional action to strengthen the rules for banks: 87 percent of Democrats, 80 percent of Independents, and 78 percent of Republicans support measures that would make a similar bank failure less likely.
However, voters have not heard much about the Biden Administration calling for reforms in the wake of SVB’s failure: 90 percent say they have heard “a little” or “nothing at all.” In addition, a plurality of Independent voters believe both parties are equally influenced by bank lobbyists.
Congress’s 2018 rollback of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act reduced how often small- and medium-sized banks like SVB had to participate in financial reviews that larger financial institutions regularly undergo. Many commentators have pointed to this regulatory rollback as a key reason why SVB failed, and recently Representative Katie Porter (D-California) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) introduced legislation that would repeal the 2018 deregulation.
When given a description of the Warren/Porter proposal and asked if they would support Congress passing a bill to repeal the 2018 deregulation, voters are again supportive across partisan lines: 81 percent of Democrats and 66 percent of both Independents and Republicans support reinstating the repealed bank regulations to make sure that financial institutions like SVB undergo the proper reviews.
Support for the Biden Administration’s actions in the wake of SVB’s collapse was also tested, employing a three-way split test to investigate framing differences. Voters support the administration's actions in each framing test, though support has a notable dip when “billionaire tech investors and multi-million dollar companies” are mentioned.
Among Independent voters, framing the Biden Administration’s action as creating an “emergency fund” is popular by a +28-point margin, and popularity only dips slightly to a +19-point margin when that language is replaced with “bailout.” However, when people are told that “billionaire tech investors and multi-million dollar companies” were made whole, Independent support for the administration’s action drops to a -2-point margin — a 30-point drop.
A Bar Chart from Data For Progress. Link to Alt Text at Bottom of Page
While voters strongly support reforms in the banking sector and the actions taken by the Biden Administration in the wake of SVB’s collapse, these results signal that the administration has room to expand communication on the subject and claim this issue for Democrats.
Kevin Hanley (@kebhanley) is a polling analyst at Data for Progress.