COLUMBIA - Following Silicon Valley Bank's crash on Friday, mid-Missouri banks report they have experienced no issues, despite raised concerns.Â
One bank in particular, Central Bank of Boone County, said it had a few people call in and ask questions, but that no one was concerned with their banking.
Mary Wilkerson, senior vice president of marketing at Central Bank, said while it is not a local issue, it is still important to do research before choosing to work with any financial institution.
"We've been around over 160 years, you know, we have a very strong financial record," Wilkerson said. "You just want to make sure you're doing business with trustworthy people, which isn't to say that those banks weren't trustworthy, but they were doing some things that were very unusual and kind of cutting edge, and you know, you're going to take a bigger risk."
One way to protect a customer's money is for an individual to partner with a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation- (FDIC) insured institution.
"It's really important for people to understand - if you're doing business with an FDIC-insured institution, your deposits are covered up to $250,000," Wilkerson said.
In terms of what happened with Silicon Valley Bank's crash, Wilkerson said the bank made some unusual choices which led to its downfall, but that this is not an usual circumstance for most banks.
"Anytime the market goes up or down, and the interest rates go up or down, it's going to impact what you're doing in your own company portfolio, and so they made some decisions in their portfolio that affected the negative outcome that occurred," she said. "It's just important to do business with organizations that really don't go out there with risky investments like that."
Though, some other popular regional banks, such as the Kansas City bank UMB, are experiencing a dip in its stocks.
UMB's stocks dipped roughly 30% Monday morning, but later bounced back that afternoon in trading. Stocks do not represent the financial stability of a bank.Â
Shares of First Republic dropped 78%, JP Morgan Chase fell 0.7% and Bank of America dipped 3.7%.
However, Wilkerson insisted that the banking industry as a whole is still doing well.
"I think the banking industry is actually very, very strong," she said. "I mean, it's like any industry. You're going to have situations where some businesses succeed, and some businesses fail."Â
She also insists that business is operating the same as ever.
"We want to be sensitive to people that are afraid, but I do want to reassure them that really and truly we get up every day and we're doing the same thing today that we were doing last week, and the week before, and the month before, and the year before and the 160 years before," Wilkerson said.
Commerce Bank also released a statement to the public, saying that it is stable and "among one of the safest banks in the country." The bank also sent a statement to KOMU 8 News, reiterating its position after the recent events.
Steve Sowers, senior regional director at Commerce Bank, said that while the market uncertainty can be alarming, the bank believes there is no reason to worry.
"We remind our customers that their deposits are insured up to at least $250,000 per depositor at an FDIC-insured bank like Commerce. Furthermore, the Federal Reserve Board's swift action to make available additional funding to eligible depository institutions to meet the needs of all their depositors helps reinforce the stability of the banking system," Sowers said. "Banks, like Commerce, that have a highly diversified deposit base and the experience and knowledge that comes with serving customers through all economic cycles are well-positioned to help our communities navigate times of economic stress."
