Georgia

Despite recent banking failure, officials say your money is safe

Both the Georgia Bankers Association and the chairman of the House Banks and Banking Committee said Monday that the health of Georgia banks is strong, even in the wake of the much-publicized collapse of two big banks, including Silicon Valley Bank over the weekend.

“I want to make sure I let people know that Georgia banks are healthy, solid, and in very good financial shape,” David Oliver, the Chief Operating Officer of the Georgia Bankers Association told Channel 2′s Richard Elliott. “They have low levels of problem loans. They have high levels of capital, and they have strong liquidity to meet any customers’ need and any customers’ demand.”

Oliver said the reasons behind the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, which also has a single branch in a Buckhead skyscraper, are not happening in Georgia.

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Building personnel said the bank’s offices were closed Monday, and no one answered multiple calls.

“Your money is safe in Georgia’s banks,” Oliver added.

That wasn’t always the case.

During the Great Recession, Georgia led the nation in bank failures.

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The collapse of the housing market took many smaller Georgia banks with it.

Developers, construction companies, and homeowners defaulted on loans that ruined many Georgia banks.

But State Rep. Noel Williams, a Cordele Republican and chair of the House Banks and Banking Committee, insists that’s not the case today.

“There were plenty of safeguards put in place, and the Georgia Bankers Association is on top of it,” Williams said. “I think what happened to our neighbors in California had a lot to do with Silicon Valley (Bank), and there’s a lot of things that were going on our there that just don’t happen in Georgia.”

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The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, insures all deposits up to $250,000, and Oliver pointed out that no depositor has ever lost money since its creation in 1933.

“We’re sound,” Williams said. “Everything is great. We’re regulated, our banking department is wonderful and the Georgia Bankers Association is on top of things.”

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