John Cornyn: “families and businesses across the country are worried about the safety and stability of our banking system. Two weeks…”

“families and businesses across the country are worried about the safety and stability of our banking system. Two weeks ago, Silicon Valley Bank--a bank that many people had never heard of--rocketed from relative obscurity to infamy when it suddenly and unexpectedly collapsed. The bank, which reported $212 billion in assets last quarter, is now known as the biggest bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis. It is the second largest bank failure in American history. The American people quickly learned that Silicon Valley Bank had made some pretty risky investment decisions. When interest rates were low, it purchased long-term Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities. As the Federal Reserve raised interest rates to fight record inflation, the value of those investments tumbled. SVB attempted to stop the bleeding by selling $21 billion worth of assets at a loss of nearly $2 billion. Well, it didn't take long for this entire house of cards to come tumbling down. When customers learned about its financial troubles, it caused a run on deposits. And, of course, no bank can withstand a run on its deposits where people demand to get paid back immediately when many of the investments that were made are longer term investments. Shortly after the Silicon Valley Bank implosion, Signature Bank, a regional bank in New York, collapsed as well. And, now, major banks have pledged to help rescue First Republic Bank from potentially succumbing to the same fate.…”