Biden urges Americans to have faith after Silicon Valley bank collapse

“Your deposits are there when you need them,” he said.

New York • President Joe Biden on Monday told US citizens the country’s financial systems are healthy after two banks collapsed quickly and stunningly, sparking fears of a broader upheaval.

“Americans can have confidence that the banking system is safe,” he said in the Roosevelt Room before a trip to the West Coast. “Your insoles are there when you need them.”

US regulators shut down Silicon Valley Bank on Friday after it experienced a traditional bank run in which depositors withdrew their funds all at once. It is the second largest bank failure in US history, behind only Washington Mutual in 2008.

In a sign of how fast the financial hemorrhage was happening, regulators announced that New York-based Signature Bank had also failed.

Speaking in the Roosevelt Room just before US markets opened, the president said he would try to pin down those responsible and urged better oversight and regulation of larger banks. And he promised that no losses would be borne by taxpayers.

Both the US and UK governments took extraordinary steps to prevent a possible banking crisis.

US regulators have been working all weekend to find a buyer for the Silicon Valley bank, which has more than $200 billion in assets and caters to tech startups, venture capital firms and well-paid tech workers.

Although those efforts appeared to have failed, officials reassured all of the bank’s customers that they would be able to access their funds on Monday.

The Bank of England and Britain’s Treasury announced early Monday that it was facilitating the sale of Silicon Valley Bank’s London-based subsidiary to HSBC, Europe’s largest bank, and adding £6.7 billion of deposit security (March 8). .1 billion US dollars) would have guaranteed.

The pledges came as part of an expansive emergency lending program aimed at preventing a spate of bank runs that would endanger the stability of the banking system and the economy at large. ___ Rugaber and Megerian reported from Washington. Sweet and Bussewitz reported from New York. Associated Press writers Hope Yen in Washington, Jennifer McDermott in Providence, Rhode Island, and Danica Kirka in London contributed to this report.