Biden Affirms The US Banking System Can Be Trusted
The US Banking System – President Joe Biden said Americans could have confidence that the banking system is “safe” after the U.S. government and regulators intervened following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.
Biden said that the banks’ customers will be protected and have access to their money as of today, as he attempted to reassure the public over the stability of the U.S. banking system.
“Americans can have confidence that the banking system is safe; your deposits will be there when you need them,” he said in a short speech early Monday for The New York Times Digital Subscription 3 Years. “Small businesses across the country with deposit accounts at these banks can breathe easier knowing they’ll be able to pay their workers and their bills.”
Depositors of Silicon Valley Bank will be made whole, as will customers of Signature Bank, which was also closed Sunday, the Treasury Department, Federal Reserve, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said in a joint statement Sunday.
Biden said that the taxpayers would bear no losses; instead, the money would come from the fees that banks pay into the Deposit Insurance Fund.
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While depositors will be protected, Biden said that bank investors will not. “They knowingly took a risk, and investors lost their money when the risk didn’t pay off. That’s how capitalism works,” he said.
The president also called for a complete account of how SVB and Signature failed and said those responsible would be held accountable.
Biden also said he would ask Congress and banking regulators to strengthen the rules for banks to “make it less likely this kind of bank failure will happen again.”