President Joe Biden has said the US will do whatever it takes to strengthen the banking system after a series of bank failures raised concerns about financial stability, the BBC reported.
He made the comment after the government announced it would guarantee all deposits at Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. It is trying to prevent a pullback from banks after SVB collapsed amid a surge in customer withdrawals.
Americans need to be sure that our banking system is safe, Biden said. According to him, people and companies who have money deposited in SVB will be able to access it from Monday. Taxpayers will not suffer any losses from the move, which will be funded by fees that regulators charge banks. Bank managers will be fired, he added.
Biden made a comment about the bankruptcy of Silicon Valley Bank, the 16th largest bank in the United States. Every American should feel confident that their deposits will be there if and when they need them. Let me also assure you that we will not stop there. We will do what is necessary, indicated the president.
SVB, which specializes in lending to technology companies, was shut down by regulators who seized its assets on Friday. It was the largest failure of a US bank since the 2008 financial crisis.
It came as SVB struggled to raise cash to cover a loss on the sale of assets hit by higher interest rates. Word of the problems sent customers scrambling to withdraw funds, leading to a cash crunch.
