Yellen says bank situation 'stabilizing,' system is 'sound'

Legislation. I'm signing today rolls back the crippling Dodd Frank regulations that are crushing community banks And credit unions nationwide. They were in such trouble. That's president Trump in 2018, rolling back bank regulations first put in place eight years earlier after *** financial crisis shook the banking industry. The new rules known as the Dodd Frank Act were meant to prevent another financial collapse. Now, critics say easing those regulations caused or contributed to the sudden failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank earlier this month, these bank failures were the direct result of policy makers decisions over the last five years beginning with *** 2018 law signed by President Trump with the support of both parties. But is that what happened? Let's get the facts with our partners at fact check dot org is the rollback to blame for the failure. There seem to be many different causes uh that were involved here. Your research, your fact checking has found it's not clear cut. Yeah. No, it's it's it's not clear cut. There are *** lot of red flags with this bank um from the experts that we spoke to those warnings include s V BS rapid growth. In fact, it nearly quadrupled its assets in *** short span of just four years, Holding *** huge portion of accounts far larger than the $250,000 amount guaranteed by the government. That meant the bank was extremely vulnerable to rapid withdrawals of most of its deposits and SBS huge investments in low interest government securities that it suddenly had to liquidate at *** loss. But some experts also argued the Dodd-Frank law made the recent bank failures even more likely to happen. So it sounds like there's some blame to go around. Yes, there is some blame to go around and there's going to be investigations over this. The S E C, the DOJ the fed, they're all going to be looking into it. And President Biden is now calling for tougher penalties for the executives of failed banks and he wants Congress to act right away and those are the facts in Washington. I'm chief national investigative correspondent, Mark Albert.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is trying to project calm after regional bank failures, saying the U.S. banking system is “sound” but additional rescue arrangements “could be warranted” if any new failures at smaller institutions pose a risk to financial stability.Yellen, in an excerpt of remarks prepared for delivery to the American Bankers Association on Tuesday, says that overall “the situation is stabilizing.""And the U.S. banking system remains sound,” Yellen says.Yellen's remarks come after a series of troubling bank developments this month.Silicon Valley Bank, based in Santa Clara, California, failed on March 10 after depositors rushed to withdraw money amid anxiety over the bank’s health. It was the second-largest bank collapse in U.S. history. Regulators convened over the following weekend and announced that New York-based Signature Bank also had failed. They said that all depositors at both banks, including those holding uninsured funds, those exceeding $250,000, would be protected by federal deposit insurance.And last week a third bank, San Francisco-based First Republic Bank, was fortified by $30 billion in funds raised by 11 of the biggest U.S. banks in an attempt to prevent it from collapsing.The government is now determined to restore public confidence in the banking system and to prevent any more turmoil. The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission have launched investigations into the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, and President Joe Biden has called on Congress to strengthen rules on regional banks and to impose tougher penalties on executives of failed banks.Yellen, in her prepared remarks, says the government’s intervention was necessary to “protect the broader banking system" and more rescue efforts could be necessary.“Similar actions could be warranted if smaller institutions suffer deposit runs that pose the risk of contagion,” she says.Yellen faced the Senate Finance Committee last week and offered upbeat reassurances to rattled bank depositors and investors that the U.S. banking system “remains sound” and Americans “can feel confident” about the safety of their deposits.She will appear in front of congressional panels twice more this week, in the Senate and the House, and will inevitably face more questions about the nature of the bank failures and the government's effort to quell them.“Let me be clear: The government’s recent actions have demonstrated our resolute commitment to take the necessary steps to ensure that depositors’ savings and the banking system remain safe,” she said.

Yellen, in an excerpt of remarks prepared for delivery to the American Bankers Association on Tuesday, says that overall “the situation is stabilizing."

"And the U.S. banking system remains sound,” Yellen says.

Yellen's remarks come after a series of troubling bank developments this month.

Silicon Valley Bank, based in Santa Clara, California, failed on March 10 after depositors rushed to withdraw money amid anxiety over the bank’s health. It was the second-largest bank collapse in U.S. history. Regulators convened over the following weekend and announced that New York-based Signature Bank also had failed. They said that all depositors at both banks, including those holding uninsured funds, those exceeding $250,000, would be protected by federal deposit insurance.

And last week a third bank, San Francisco-based First Republic Bank, was fortified by $30 billion in funds raised by 11 of the biggest U.S. banks in an attempt to prevent it from collapsing.

The government is now determined to restore public confidence in the banking system and to prevent any more turmoil. The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission have launched investigations into the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, and President Joe Biden has called on Congress to strengthen rules on regional banks and to impose tougher penalties on executives of failed banks.

Yellen, in her prepared remarks, says the government’s intervention was necessary to “protect the broader banking system" and more rescue efforts could be necessary.

“Similar actions could be warranted if smaller institutions suffer deposit runs that pose the risk of contagion,” she says.

Yellen faced the Senate Finance Committee last week and offered upbeat reassurances to rattled bank depositors and investors that the U.S. banking system “remains sound” and Americans “can feel confident” about the safety of their deposits.

She will appear in front of congressional panels twice more this week, in the Senate and the House, and will inevitably face more questions about the nature of the bank failures and the government's effort to quell them.

“Let me be clear: The government’s recent actions have demonstrated our resolute commitment to take the necessary steps to ensure that depositors’ savings and the banking system remain safe,” she said.

Yellen says bank situation 'stabilizing,' system is 'sound'

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