Despite national failures, Nebraska banking experts say your money is safe

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The Silicon Valley Bank collapse was the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history, according to Stonebridge Insurance and Wealth Management.

Tim Kulhanek, a financial adviser at Stonebridge, said there were too many companies deciding to take large amounts of their money out, and the bank couldn’t meet demand.

“Sometimes people will call it a ‘run’ on the bank,” he said. “Where it’s just a bunch of people, kind of the herd mentality, where one person says, ‘Oh, this bank might have trouble; I’m gonna take my money out.’ And then the next person does the same thing. Word spreads, everybody wants to take their money out, and banks aren’t designed — no bank is designed — to meet 100% of liquidity.”

But in the Midwest, experts say your money is probably not at risk of being lost.

Kulhanek said that despite the national closures, there’s no reason to panic and take all your money out of the bank.

Instead, this may be a wakeup call to avoid putting all your eggs in one basket and instead spread out your investments.

Doris Robertson, a representative with Union Bank & Trust, said banks in Nebraska are much more conservative and have more cash on hand, so they are much safer to save money with.

For any bank with coverage from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Robertson said the first $250,000 is protected, so the risk of you losing money is minimal.

“I think customers can take comfort that Nebraska has a healthy and diversified economy and that Nebraska banks are strong and they can be trusted with their money,” she said.

Another option for saving your money could be a credit union, which uses a democratically elected board to make its decisions.

Mary Sailors, president and CEO of LincOne Federal Credit Union, said its conservative policies and focus on its members makes investing there safe.

“Credit unions are owned and controlled by their members and operated for them and by them on a not-for-profit basis,” she said. “So the people making decisions regarding credit union investments are those who are members and are using their services.”

Sailors said credit union deposits are also federally insured, so there’s no worry of losing money.

Experts say if you’re worried about the safety of your money, reach out to a financial advisor, your bank or your credit union for more information before making any big decisions.