President Joe Biden addressed the nation on Monday to assure Americans that the banking system is safe after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. In his speech, he highlighted the immediate actions taken by his administration.
Customer deposits will be protected: Customers “will have access to their money starting today. This includes small businesses across the country who bank there and need to pay their payrolls, pay their bills and stay open for business,” Biden said. , adding that no loss will be suffered by the taxpayers.
“Instead, the money will come from fees that banks pay into the deposit insurance fund,” he explained.
The management of these banks will be dismissed: “If the bank is taken over by the FDIC, the people running the bank should no longer work there,” Biden said.
Investors in 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,” Biden added.
Recording a full account of what happened: Biden stressed the importance of holding officials accountable. “In my administration, no one is above the law,” he said.
Reduce the risk of it happening again: Citing requirements put in place under the Obama administration, including the Dodd-Frank Act, Biden said there were rules in place to prevent a repeat of 2008. But he added that the administration Trump had rolled back some of those regulations.
“I will ask Congress and banking regulators to strengthen the rules for banks, to reduce the likelihood of this type of bank failure happening again,” he said. “And to protect American jobs and small businesses.”
Reassuring that if the banking system is safe, he also said the administration would not stop there.
