US President Joe Biden said Monday that people should “rest assured” after his administration acted to ease uncertainties about the banking system in the wake of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last week, the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history.
The president spoke about the actions taken by his administration to give the country confidence that the banking system is safe.
“Thanks to the quick action of my administration over the past few days, Americans can have confidence that the banking system is safe,” Biden said. “Your deposits will be there when you need them.”
Biden explained that he instructed his team to protect U.S. workers and small businesses and detailed their actions to protect customers’ deposits and not put taxpayer dollars at risk, to hold those responsible accountable, and not to protect investors in the bank.
The president said the management of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, a second institution that was included in the plan, would be fired. “If the bank is taken over by FDIC, the people running the bank should not work there anymore,” he said.
Biden called for a “full accounting” of what led to the shutdown of Silicon Valley Bank and “why those responsible can be held accountable.”
“In my administration, no one is above the law. And finally, I must reduce the risk of this happening again,” he said.
The US president said he will ask Congress and the banking regulators to strengthen rules for banks to make it “less likely this kind of bank failure would happen again.”
“Americans can rest assured that our banking system is safe. Your deposits are safe. Let me also assure you we will not stop at this — we’ll do whatever is needed,” he said.
Biden’s remarks come after federal regulators Sunday evening moved to protect all deposits at Silicon Valley Bank hours before global stock markets resumed trading.
In a statement Sunday evening, the president said that under his direction, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and National Economic Director Lael Brainard “worked diligently” with the banking regulators to address problems at Silicon Valley Bank, as well as Signature Bank, which federal authorities also took control of and had become a hub for cryptocurrency financing.
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