Biden Tells US to Have Confidence in Banks After Collapse

March 13, 2023by Ken Sweet, Christopher Rugaber, Chris Megerian and Cathy Bussewitz, Associated Press
Biden Tells US to Have Confidence in Banks After Collapse
A sign of a branch of the Silicon Valley Bank is pictured at an office building where the bank is located in Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, March 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

NEW YORK (AP) — President Joe Biden on Monday told U.S. residents the nation’s financial systems are sound, following the swift and stunning collapse of two banks that prompted fears of a broader upheaval.

“Americans can have confidence that the banking system is safe,” he said from the Roosevelt Room before a trip to the West Coast. “Your deposits will be there when you need them.”

U.S. regulators closed the Silicon Valley Bank on Friday after it experienced a traditional bank run, where depositors rushed to withdraw their funds all at once. It is the second largest bank failure in U.S. history, behind only the 2008 failure of Washington Mutual.

In a sign of how fast the financial bleeding was occurring, regulators announced that New York-based Signature Bank had also failed.

The president, speaking from the Roosevelt Room shortly before U.S. markets opened, said he’d seek to hold those responsible and pressed for better oversight and regulation of larger banks. And he promised no losses would be borne by taxpayers.

Governments in the U.S. and Britain were both taking extraordinary steps to prevent a potential banking crisis.

U.S. regulators worked through the weekend to find a buyer for Silicon Valley Bank, which had more than $200 billion in assets and catered to tech startups, venture capital firms, and well-paid technology workers.

While those efforts appeared to have failed, officials assured all of the bank’s customers that they would be able to access their money on Monday.

The Bank of England and U.K. Treasury said early Monday that they had facilitated the sale of the Silicon Valley bank’s London-based subsidiary to HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank, ensuring the security of 6.7 billion pounds ($8.1 billion) of deposits.

The assurances came as part of an expansive emergency lending program intended to prevent a wave of bank runs that would threaten the stability of the banking system and the economy as a whole. ___ Rugaber and Megerian reported from Washington. Sweet and Bussewitz reported from New York. Associated Press Writers Hope Yen in Washington, Jennifer McDermott in Providence, Rhode Island, and Danica Kirka in London contributed to this report.

A+
a-
  • Joe Biden
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Banking

    Top Fed Official Backs New Rate Cuts Even if Trump Tariffs Materialize

    WASHINGTON (AP) — A top policymaker at the U.S. Federal Reserve said Wednesday that he still supports cutting interest rates... Read More

    WASHINGTON (AP) — A top policymaker at the U.S. Federal Reserve said Wednesday that he still supports cutting interest rates this year, despite elevated inflation and the prospect of widespread tariffs under the incoming Trump administration. Christopher Waller, an influential member of the Fed's board of governors, said he expects... Read More

    January 6, 2025
    by Tom Ramstack
    FDIC Letters to Banks About Cryptocurrency Alleged to Show Government Interference

    WASHINGTON — Copies of letters released Friday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation are being interpreted by the cryptocurrency industry... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Copies of letters released Friday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation are being interpreted by the cryptocurrency industry to mean the bank regulator was trying to interfere with development of the market. The FDIC sent the letters to the nation’s banks in 2022 telling... Read More

    April 12, 2024
    by Kate Michael
    IMF Director Sets the Stage for IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings 

    WASHINGTON — As the world's finance ministers and central bank governors prepare to convene in Washington, D.C., for the IMF-World... Read More

    WASHINGTON — As the world's finance ministers and central bank governors prepare to convene in Washington, D.C., for the IMF-World Bank spring meetings next week, Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, spoke about how this event comes at a delicate moment for the... Read More

    May 12, 2023
    by Tom Ramstack
    Banks Threatened With Tougher Rules After Collapses Deplete Accounts

    WASHINGTON — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced Thursday the nation's banks will be required to replenish the backup funds... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced Thursday the nation's banks will be required to replenish the backup funds depleted by two recent big bank failures. The FDIC made the announcement on the same day the Government Accountability Office tried to reassure a congressional finance... Read More

    G7 Finance Ministers Seek Ways to Spur Global Economy as Debt Risks Loom

    NIIGATA, Japan (AP) — Financial leaders of the Group of Seven advanced economies are discussing ways to support Ukraine and... Read More

    NIIGATA, Japan (AP) — Financial leaders of the Group of Seven advanced economies are discussing ways to support Ukraine and pressure Russia to end the war as they meet in Japan starting Thursday. Ukraine's finance minister, Serhiy Marchenko, was participating online in the first session of... Read More

    April 27, 2023
    by Dan McCue
    Renewed Bipartisan Effort Aims to Open Banking to Cannabis Industry

    WASHINGTON — Just days after an extraordinary cannabis policy summit in the U.S. Capitol, a bipartisan group of lawmakers has... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Just days after an extraordinary cannabis policy summit in the U.S. Capitol, a bipartisan group of lawmakers has reintroduced a bill aimed at ensuring legal cannabis businesses have access to banking and other financial services. The SAFE Banking Act has actually had no problem passing... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top