Biden Reassures Consumers & Markets: “Depositors Will Have Access to All of Their Money
President Joe Biden sought to reassure jittery consumers and markets on Monday morning, saying that Americans can have “confidence” in the banking system after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Speaking at the White House, the president is attempting to ease public concerns after the failure of the two banks raised fears of a full-blown banking crisis.
Biden said that “no losses” would be borne by taxpayers, and the money would come from the fees that banks pay into the Deposit Insurance Fund.[0] Shalanda Young, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, attempted to quell any worries that people may have had, asserting that the US banking system as a whole is “more resilient” presently.[1]
Biden signaled calls for accountability by stating that the bank's management will be fired.[2] The president also noted that “investors in the banks will not be protected. They knowingly took a risk, and when the risk didn’t pay off, investors lose their money. That’s how capitalism works.”[3]
He also vowed to ask Congress and banking regulators to further strengthen the rules for banks to make it less likely that a bank failure of this nature happens again and to help protect American jobs and small businesses.[4] Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also said Sunday that the government was “certainly not looking” for a bailout.
Depositors will have access to all of their money starting Monday, the Treasury Department, Federal Reserve and FDIC promised.[5] In his speech, the president assured that “every American should feel confident that their deposits will be there if and when they need them.”
Hello to all who are reading the US politics blog this morning[6] At 9am ET this morning, Joe Biden will be delivering a statement in response to last week's Silicon Valley Bank collapse, which has generated concern that the world's biggest economy could be destabilized.[6] The US government has worked over the weekend to prevent that from happening, by announcing it had taken steps to make sure account holders at the now-shuttered California bank would be able to access all their money starting today, and announcing a new Federal Reserve credit line intended to fortify other institutions that are teetering on insolvency.[6] The president will also be talking about his administration’s emergency plan to contain the failure of the two banks.
0. “Biden says Americans should ‘feel confident' in banking system after federal response to SVB collapse” Fox News, 13 Mar. 2023, https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-americans-confidence-banking-system-federal-response-svb-collapse
1. “Biden vows to hold those responsible for Silicon Valley Bank failure ‘fully accountable'” KTVZ, 13 Mar. 2023, https://ktvz.com/politics/cnn-us-politics/2023/03/12/treasury-secretary-rules-out-bailout-for-silicon-valley-bank-2/
2. “Biden: ‘No one is above the law' in Silicon Valley Bank crash” Business Insider, 13 Mar. 2023, https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-comments-silicon-valley-bank-crash-no-one-above-law-2023-3
3. “Biden speaks on banking crisis hoping to reassure Americans” ABC News, 13 Mar. 2023, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-speaks-banking-crisis/story?id=97820883
4. “Following SVB Failure Biden Vows to Hold Banks Accountable” Bloomberg, 13 Mar. 2023, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-13/biden-says-he-will-seek-stronger-regulations-for-banks-lf6ugqxe
5. “Biden says ‘the banking system is safe' after Silicon Valley Bank shutdown” NBC News, 13 Mar. 2023, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/biden-deliver-remarks-silicon-valley-bank-shutdown-rcna74622
6. “‘Banking system is safe’: Joe Biden reassures markets in address on Silicon Valley Bank collapse – live updates” The Guardian US, 13 Mar. 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2023/mar/13/silicon-valley-bank-collapse-biden-address
