Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen ruled out a bailout from the federal government for now-collapsed Silicon Valley Bank, but said that the government will step in to help depositors in some capacity.
“We’re not going to do that again,” Yellen said on CBS’ “Face the Nation”, referring to the 2007-2009 financial crisis that led to a massive government rescue aimed at heading off a wider catastrophe. “But we are concerned about depositors and are focused on trying to meet their needs.”
She declined to provide specifics on potential steps the government will take.
“I simply want to say that we’re very aware of the problems that depositors will have, many of them are small businesses that employ people across the country,” Yellen said. “Of course, this is a significant concern.”
Silicon Valley Bank, a financial institution deeply connected with technology start ups and venture capital, collapsed due to the downturn of technology stocks and the Federal Reserve’s interest hikes, ultimately resulting in a bank run that led to Friday’s collapse.
Why it’s not 2008 again:What Silicon Valley Bank collapse means
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation took over the bank and said that deposits will be available on Monday morning, but the federal government only insures deposits up to $250,000 per depositor. A majority of the bank’s deposits are uninsured, given the bank’s customer base being largely comprised of tech workers and wealthy venture capitalists.
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