Increasing interest rates, the media's suggestion of an impending economic slowdown, problems with credit quality, and individual-bank weaknesses have been cited by bankers and economists as possible explanations for the American Banker/Gallup consumer survey finding that the public's faith in the health of banks decreased 4 percent from 1999 to 2000. Over the same time period, public confidence in the security of the banking system remained steady at a high rate. Most analysts concur that the 4 percent drop in the public's perception of banks' health should not overly concern bankers, and the sustained confidence in the security of the banking system more than makes up for the drop of confidence in banks' health. When the survey respondents who felt that banks are "fairly healthy" are taken into account, 90 percent of the sample pool are shown to be confidant about banks' health. People between the age of 55 and 64, those with household incomes greater than $75,000, men, and those holding post-graduate degrees are more likely to feel confident about the health of banks than other population segments.