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U.S. NEWS Thursday 23 March 2023
Americans’ faith in banks low after failures: AP-NORC poll

By PAUL WISEMAN and them poor.
HANNAH FINGERHUT But 43% of Democrats call
Associated Press the economy good, versus
WASHINGTON (AP) — Only just 7% of Republicans.
10% of U.S. adults say they About half of U.S. adults
have high confidence in describe their personal fi-
the nation’s banks and nancial situations as good,
other financial institutions, a a drop from last year when
new poll finds. That’s down about 6 in 10 said that.
from the 22% who said they About 6 in 10 Democrats
had high confidence in and about half of Repub-
2020. licans give positive assess-
Following the collapse ments of their current fi-
of Silicon Valley Bank this nances.
month, the poll from The With a Democrat in the
Associated Press-NORC White House, Republicans
Center for Public Affairs Re- are more likely than Demo-
search also finds that a ma- crats (36% versus 15%) to
jority say the government is say their finances will get
not doing enough to regu- worse over the next year;
late the industry. 38% of Democrats say they
The underwhelming assess- expect their finances to
ment of America’s banks improve, versus 22% of Re-
and bank regulation comes A law enforcement official, behind, stands in an entryway to a Silicon Valley Bank branch location, publicans.
after a series of shocks March 13, 2023, as customers and bystanders line up outside the bank, in Wellesley, Mass. Overall, about half of U.S.
brought back disturbing Associated Press adults expect U.S. econom-
memories of the 2008-2009 tions put in place after the agencies that are sup- General Social Survey, ic conditions to deteriorate
financial crisis. financial crisis. posed to regulate them. which has tracked trends in over the next year. Again,
Silicon Valley Bank, the na- The poll suggests the U.S. “It’s like they have free public opinion for decades, there’s a political divide:
tion’s 16th-biggest, failed public shares that con- rein to do whatever they shows that confidence in About three-quarters of Re-
March 10 after making risky cern: 56% say the govern- want with money,’’ said institutions ranging from the publicans but only a third of
bets in the bond market. ment isn’t doing enough to Metscher, a Republican. financial industry to orga- Democrats expect the na-
Two days later, regulators regulate banks and other The poll finds that in addi- nized religion and from the tional economy to worsen.
closed New York-based financial institutions, while tion to the 10% of Ameri- news media to Congress American households have
Signature Bank, which had 27% say it’s doing the right cans saying that they have has declined substantially been hit hard by inflation,
gotten involved in cryp- amount and 15% say it’s high confidence in the na- since the 1970s. The new which began to pick up in
tocurrencies. Across the regulating too much. The tion’s banking institutions, poll shows few Americans the spring of 2021. Adjust-
Atlantic Ocean, long-trou- worry about under-reg- 57% do have some confi- have high confidence in ed for inflation, U.S. hourly
bled Credit Suisse was ac- ulation is bipartisan: 63% dence; 31% have hardly any branch of the U.S. gov- wages have fallen for 23
quired by rival UBS on Sun- of Democrats say current any. ernment. straight months compared
day in a shotgun marriage bank regulation is insuffi- Though confidence in There’s been little change to a year earlier.
designed to restore confi- cient, as do 51% of Repub- banks and financial institu- in the already glum assess- “You never know what’s
dence in global financial licans. tions has decreased even ment of the U.S. economy going on. It’s paycheck to
institutions. U.S. Marine Corps veteran since the last time that since a month ago, before paycheck,’’ said Metscher
In the United States, the Philip Metscher, 53, a stay- question was asked on an the recent banking sys- in Sacramento. “I’m look-
tumult has raised ques- at-home father of seven AP-NORC poll in 2020, low tem turmoil, the poll shows. ing at food prices, gas pric-
tions among policymakers in Sacramento, California, confidence among Ameri- Only a quarter say national es. It reminds me of being a
about 2018 legislation that said he has little faith in cans in their public institu- economic conditions are kid growing up’’ during the
rolled back strict regula- bankers or the government tions is nothing new — the good; three quarters call high-inflation 1970s. q

More deaths, injuries linked to recalled eyedrops

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. cases of people losing their California, New York, Illinois,
officials are reporting two vision, the Centers for Dis- Texas and Pennsylvania.
more deaths and addition- ease Control and Preven- Most of the cases have
al cases of vision loss linked tion reported on Tuesday. been linked to four region-
to eyedrops tainted with a That’s up from one death al clusters and Ezricare’s
drug-resistant bacteria. and five cases of perma- drops are the only product
The eyedrops from EzriCare nent vision loss reported last used by patients in each of
and Delsam Phama were month. those groups.
recalled in February and The CDC said four people The recalled drops were
health authorities are con- have undergone surgery to manufactured by Global
tinuing to track infections remove an eyeball due to Pharma Healthcare in In-
as they investigate the out- the infections. dia, where the bacteria
break. The outbreak is considered — Pseudomonas aerugi-
In the latest government particularly worrisome be- nosa — is commonly linked
tally, 68 people were di- cause the bacteria driving to outbreaks in hospitals. It
agnosed with infections it is resistant to standard an- can spread through con- This scanning electron microscope image made available
from the bacteria, which tibiotics. taminated hands or medi- by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows rod-
has now caused a total The CDC has now identified cal equipment.q shaped Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria.
of three deaths and eight cases in 16 states, including ___ Associated Press