US authorities want to protect bank deposits

The US Federal Reserve, the Treasury Department and the Federal Deposit Insurance Fund FDIC announced on Sunday that SVB savers will have access to “all their money” starting Monday. The taxpayer does not have to pay for this.

Access to all deposits at Signature Bank, based in New York, will also be made possible, authorities said in a joint statement. The bank also ran into problems and was closed by the US authorities on Sunday.

In addition, the US Federal Reserve announced that it would make additional funds available to banks to meet the needs of their depositors – this should also affect withdrawals. “We are taking decisive action to protect the U.S. economy by increasing public confidence in our banking system,” officials said. The US banking system remains resilient and on solid foundations.

The FDIC only protects deposits up to USD 250,000 (approximately CHF 230,000) per customer and bank. However, according to a Washington Post report, the Federal Banking Act would allow the Deposit Insurance Fund to protect unsecured deposits if systemic risk would otherwise be threatened.

Biden: Hold those responsible to account

US President Joe Biden promised on Sunday that those responsible for the bank failures would be held accountable. “The American people and American businesses can be confident that their bank balances will be there when they need them,” the Democrat continued. The head of state said he wanted to comment on the banking system on Monday.

The US authorities closed the SVB on Friday. The financial institution had run into huge problems as a result of billions in losses on the sale of securities. The SVB is a little known bank to the general public, but has played a major role in financing start-ups in the US since the 1980s. (sda/afp)