President Biden on Monday expressed confidence that the U. S. banking system is safe and Americans can access their deposits after regulators closed two banks in recent days.
“The bottom line is this: Americans can rest assured that our banking system is safe. Your deposits are safe. Let me also assure you, we will not stop at this. We’ll do whatever is needed,” Biden said in remarks before departing for California.
The president sought to reassure the public and financial markets that his administration had the situation under control after regulators late last week took control of Silicon Valley Bank, which catered to the startup and venture capital-funded tech world. Regulators in New York on Sunday closed Signature Bank of New York amid growing uncertainty about the stability of the banking system.
The president said the government would pursue a “full accounting” of how Silicon Valley Bank collapsed and why, adding that lawmakers must act to prevent it from happening again.
The Treasury Department on Sunday announced it would backstop all deposits at those banks, not just up to $250,000 as insured by federal law.
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