US works to prevent crisis as SVB, Signature Bank collapse
- Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapsed over the weekend
- President Joe Biden says bank customers are protected and can access money Monday
- Chief economist: Banking system is safe, systemically important banks are tested often
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WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — The United States government stepped in Sunday night to stop a widespread banking crisis after the historic failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank over the weekend — the second- and third-largest bank failures in U.S. history.
The big focus Monday remained on easing some of the panic following the collapses.
President Joe Biden reassured bank customers were protected and that they’d have access to their money as of Monday.
“No losses will be borne by the taxpayers,” Biden said. “Instead, the money will come from the fees that banks pay into the deposit insurance fund. Because of the actions that our regulators have already taken, every American should feel confident that their deposits should be there if and when they need them.”
Biden also announced that the management of both Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank will be fired.
Investors in the banks will not be protected by the U.S. government. Biden said they knowingly took a risk, and when the risks didn’t pay off, investors lost their money.
The president said no one is above the law, and that there would be an investigation into why this happened and how it can be prevented in the future.
Regulators worked to auction off the bank to help contain the fallout from its failure on Friday — the worst U.S. financial institution failure since the Great Recession.
The situation led to financial and bank leaders working throughout the weekend, and overnight, NewsNation learned the Silicon Valley Bank UK was successfully sold to HSBC. The British treasury chief said this will ensure that deposits will be protected.
This all followed other big moves to help those customers and prevent possibly more bank runs.
The Treasury Department, Federal Reserve and FDIC said Sunday that all Silicon Valley Bank clients will be protected and have access to their funds on Monday, announcing steps designed to protect the bank’s customers and prevent more bank runs.
The Fed also made additional funding available for eligible banks to prevent the next Silicon Valley Bank from collapsing.
President Joe Biden released a statement Sunday night, trying to bring some reassurance to the American people.
“I am firmly committed to holding those responsible for this mess fully accountable and to continuing our efforts to strengthen oversight and regulation of larger banks so that we are not in this position again,” Biden said. “Tomorrow morning, I will deliver remarks on how we will maintain a resilient banking system to protect our historic economic recovery.”
Silicon Valley Bank attracted companies like tech startups while Signature Bank became popular with the crypto industry.
With the downturn in the tech industry over the last few months, both banks saw customers become needier for cash, which ultimately led to big bank runs recently and the two banks collapsing.
“What we have here is a classic case of bad risk management on the part of the executives of Silicon Valley Bank. They did some things that would have failed people in Banking 101 in terms of managing their assets and liabilities and trying to match the deposits with maturities with their assets,” William Lee, the chief economist at The Milken Institute, said.
Lee reassured that the U.S. banking system is safe and systemically important banks are tested all the time.
The economic collapse of these two banks has led to a lot of concerns over what this could mean for the American people and if it could spread to other banks.
For tech startups, it’s particularly worrisome as they scramble to pay workers and face big questions about projects and job security.
In response, Biden’s team announced depositors of the impacted banks will have access to their money Monday while the Fed announced a funding program for banks to help against further bank runs.
This marks some of the most extensive government intervention since the 2008 financial crisis, but government leaders continue to say taxpayer money has not been provided to the banks.
Biden further commented on the matter, saying, “The American people and American businesses can have confidence that their bank deposits will be there when they need them. I am firmly committed to holding those responsible for this mess fully accountable and to continuing our efforts to strengthen oversight and regulation of larger banks so that we are not in this position again.”
So how could this impact you at home? One way is the stock market, your investments and potentially, your 401ks. Monday will reveal how many more banks the market believes might be at risk.
The former head of the FDIC, the agency that provides insurance for bank deposits, believes there could be more.
Others, though, including the director of the Office of Management and Budget, say the 2008 safeguards should still prevent another major collapse.
“After the financial crisis, the reforms put in place have given regulators more tools and our system is more resilient and the foundation is stronger because of it,” Shalanda Young, a director of the Office of Management and Budget, said.
At this point, no lawmakers or cabinet secretaries thus far are calling for a government bailout of SVB. Some hedge fund managers say that should be the response.
All signs point to this ending with an orderly winding down of the bank, likely a selling off of all or most of its assets to other banks.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.