• US lawmakers held a meeting with the Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on Friday to discuss the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).
• Democratic US Representative Maxine Waters expressed her concerns and appreciation of the DFPI and FDIC’s action in response to SVB’s failure.
• US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also met with banking regulators, including the FDIC, on Friday to discuss the situation.
Lawmakers Seek Answers From Fed & FDIC
US lawmakers held a meeting with the Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on Friday to discuss the swift and stunning collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Democratic US Representative Maxine Waters reportedly discussed with officials from the two federal bank regulators, as well as the Treasury Department, hours after SVB collapsed. Lawmakers from both parties were present at the meetings.
Maxine Waters‘ Statement
In a statement, Rep. Maxine Waters expressed her alarm at SVB’s failure which she noted was „the second largest bank failure in U.S. history.“ She also appreciated DFPI and FDIC for taking decisive action, expressing confidence in America’s financial markets and its regulators‘ ability to protect consumers and investors.
Other Lawmaker Reactions
Other lawmakers such as Rep. Ro Khanna have also reached out to both the White House and Treasury Department to discuss SVB’s collapse. Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen met with banking regulators on Friday to assure that they have effective tools available to address such events.
Silicon Valley Bank Collapse
Silicon Valley Bank, one of the most popular lenders to tech startups in Silicon Valley, failed on March 10th falling into FDIC control who established Deposit Insurance National Bank of Santa Clara for insured deposits from SVB customers. The swift collapse came just two days after crypto-friendly bank Silvergate suffered a run following FTX’s November fall resulting in Silvergate having to sell $5.2 billion worth of debt securities it was holding on its balance sheet at a significant loss .
Conclusion
Overall it appears that lawmakers are taking an active interest in understanding what happened with Silicon Valley Bank’s swift collapse while federal banking agencies are responding quickly by creating new avenues for customers affected by this closure as well as reassuring market stability going forward amidst these unprecedented times