Stocks slid after officials at the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/federal-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Federal Reserve</a> announced a 0.25% increase in the target <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/interest-rates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">federal funds</a> rate on Wednesday, continuing a slowdown from previous rate hikes meant to combat <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/inflation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">inflation</a> and marking caution from policymakers given recent tumult in the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/banks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">banking</a> sector.
Rate hikes increase the cost of borrowing money, lowering inflationary pressures as consumers and businesses assume less debt. Federal Reserve officials previously set interest rates targets between 0.0% and 0.25% during the lockdown-induced recession to stimulate economic activity; target interest rates now sit between 4.75% and 5.0%.
“Recent indicators point to modest growth in spending and production,” members of the Federal Open Market Committee said in a <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/monetary20230322a.htm">statement</a>. “Job gains have picked up in recent months and are running at a robust pace; the unemployment rate has remained low. Inflation remains elevated.”
The Dow slid more than 500 points on Wednesday and closed 1.6% lower than market open, with regional bank shares leading the decline.
As inflation remained elevated and rose to levels as high as 9.1% in June 2022, policymakers at the Federal Reserve <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-federal-reserve-hikes-target-interest-rates-half-a-percentage-point" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raised rates</a> by 0.75% on four occasions before implementing a 0.5% hike at the end of last year. Inflation rates were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-says-economy-will-continue-to-make-progress-after-another-dismal-inflation-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">charted</a> at 6.0% as of February 2023.
The decision to hike interest rates announced on Wednesday was complicated by the implosion of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank earlier this month, as well as broader international volatility in the financial sector. Silicon Valley Bank had been forced to sell a long-term bond portfolio at a loss because of the higher interest rate environment as account holders whose balances exceeded the $250,000 threshold insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation rushed to withdraw their funds; the government-backed company nevertheless insured all accounts to discourage bank runs at other firms.
Federal Open Market Committee members added in the statement that they believe the financial system is resilient. “Recent developments are likely to result in tighter credit conditions for households and businesses and to weigh on economic activity, hiring, and inflation,” the body added. “The extent of these effects is uncertain.”
One recent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nearly-200-other-banks-vulnerable-to-svb-style-collapse-study-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> from National Bureau of Economic Research analysts revealed that more restrictive monetary policy from the Federal Reserve has caused the value of bank assets to decrease by 10%, indicating that the overall financial system’s assets are $2 trillion lower than their book value. The “substantial losses in the value of banks’ long-duration assets” indicate that “banks are much more fragile” to runs from uninsured depositors.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell had said days before the turmoil in the financial sector that robust labor market data and persistent inflation in some product categories meant that policymakers would continue to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-reserve-chair-jerome-powell-tells-congress-more-rate-hikes-are-on-the-way" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increase</a> target interest rates. Despite the low unemployment rates, household wages have declined over the past two years when adjusted for inflation.
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“We continue to anticipate that ongoing increases in the target range for the federal funds rate will be appropriate in order to attain a stance of monetary policy that is sufficiently restrictive,” he said in remarks before members of the Senate Banking Committee. “We are seeing the effects of our policy actions on demand in the most interest-sensitive sectors of the economy. It will take time, however, for the full effects of monetary restraint to be realized, especially on inflation.”

Jerome Powell Testifies On Federal Reserve’s Response To Coronavirus Pandemic

Stocks Slide After Federal Reserve Hikes Target Interest Rate, Balances Fighting Inflation And Protecting Banks

Federal Reserve Hikes Target Interest Rates By Quarter Point

Banks

Economy

Federal Reserve

Inflation

Interest Rates

U.S.

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/treasury-department" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Treasury</a> Secretary <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/janet-yellen?_gl=1*3y8f6k*_ga*NzUzNDA5ODIxLjE2NzkzMjkzNzM.*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTY3OTQwNjAxOS42LjEuMTY3OTQxMTc2Ni41Ny4wLjA." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Janet Yellen</a> commented on Tuesday that deposit withdrawals from regional <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/banks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">banks</a> have stabilized and affirmed that authorities will protect smaller financial institutions.
The recent collapse of <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/silicon-valley-bank" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Silicon Valley Bank</a>, where the vast majority of accounts exceeded the $250,000 threshold guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, prompted the government-backed company to secure all accounts at the firm to prevent more bank runs. Yellen said in <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1354" target="_blank" rel="noopener">remarks</a> at a summit of the American Bankers Association that the Biden administration and the Federal Reserve successfully mitigated fallout in the financial sector.
“As everyone in this room knows, the American economy relies on a healthy banking system that can provide for the credit needs of families and businesses,” Yellen said. “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.”
Silicon Valley Bank provided services to half of venture-backed technology and health care firms in the United States. The current deposit insurance threshold of $250,000 is suitable for most individuals and households, yet businesses such as those served by Silicon Valley Bank often retain larger sums to conduct operations and pay employees.
Yellen added that “the situation is stabilizing” and characterized the banking system as “sound.” She noted that regulators are examining the causes of the failures at Silicon Valley Bank, which covered withdrawal requests by selling a bond portfolio that had declined substantially in value amid Federal Reserve actions to hike interest rates.
One recent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nearly-200-other-banks-vulnerable-to-svb-style-collapse-study-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> from analysts associated with the National Bureau of Economic Research revealed that monetary tightening from the Federal Reserve has caused bank asset values to decrease by 10%, indicating that the overall financial system’s assets are $2 trillion lower than their book value. The “substantial losses in the value of banks’ long-duration assets” indicate that “banks are much more fragile” to runs by uninsured depositors.
Approximately 1,619 of the 4,800 financial institutions evaluated by the researchers would not be able to withstand all uninsured account holders demanding their funds, while 186 banks would not be unable to withstand half of uninsured depositors demanding their funds. Both scenarios assume that the banks would not be forced to sell their long-term assets at fire sale prices to cover withdrawals.
Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/janet-yellen-admits-community-banks-in-middle-america-might-not-be-protected-like-silicon-valley-bank" target="_blank" rel="noopener">questioned</a> Yellen last week about whether uninsured deposits at community banks in his state “regardless of their size” would likewise be “fully insured.” She initially responded that authorities would collectively decide whether failure of the institutions would “create systemic risk and significant financial and economic consequences” but vowed at the American Bankers Association that smaller banks would receive protection.
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“Given recent developments, I think it is important to reaffirm a broader point: our dynamic and diverse banking system is critical to the American economy,” she commented. “Large banks play an important role in our economy, but so do small and mid-sized banks. These banks are heavily engaged in traditional banking services that provide vital credit and financial support to families and small businesses. They also increase competition in the banking sector, and often have specialized knowledge and expertise in the communities they invest in.”

Treasury Secretary Yellen Speaks At The American Bankers Association’s Washington Summit

Banking System Is ‘Sound’ And Government Will Back Deposits At Smaller Banks, Yellen Promises

‘The Situation Is Stabilizing’: Yellen Says Banking System Is ‘Sound’ And Government Will Back Deposits At Smaller Banks

Janet Yellen

Silicon Valley Bank

Treasury Department

Citizens of <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/switzerland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Switzerland</a> backed the losses incurred by the merger of the nation’s two largest investment <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/banks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">banks</a>, effectively costing each citizen roughly $13,500 in <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/taxes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tax</a> liabilities.
Swiss investment bank UBS agreed over the weekend to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/switzerlands-two-largest-banks-to-combine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">purchase</a> rival financial institution Credit Suisse in a $3 billion deal. The Swiss National Bank offered the two firms a “public liquidity backstop” worth $108 billion as well as nearly $10 billion in government guarantees of potential excess losses.
The deal will create tax liabilities of $13,500 for each of the 8.7 million men, women, and children in the small central European nation. The liability is equivalent to $29,700 per household and constitutes 20% of a typical Swiss citizen’s annual income.
“We are fed up with the idea that if you are big enough, you get everything,” Christoph Rechsteiner, a partner at Swiss tax consultancy MME, said in an <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-21/swiss-brace-for-credit-suisse-bailout-costing-them-13-500-each" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with Bloomberg, which added that 200 people assembled on Monday outside of the Credit Suisse headquarters in Zurich and threw eggs at the building. “The law is changed for you over a weekend.”
Credit Suisse, formerly the eighth largest investment bank in the world, had <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/banking-crisis-widens-as-credit-suisse-shares-plunge-on-alarming-annual-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">identified</a> several “material weaknesses” with respect to risk assessment strategy in a recent annual report. The document said that performance last year was “significantly affected by the challenging macro and geopolitical environment with market uncertainty and client risk aversion,” prompting an “adverse impact on client activity across all our divisions.” Customers of Credit Suisse withdrew $119 billion in the fourth quarter of last year amid risk and compliance failures.
Credit Suisse is one of 30 worldwide banks <a href="https://www.fsb.org/2022/11/2022-list-of-global-systemically-important-banks-g-sibs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">considered</a> by the Financial Stability Board as “systemically important,” meaning that the failure of Credit Suisse could have induced an international financial crisis. The companies listed as systemically important are colloquially called “too big to fail.” The Swiss National Bank had additionally <a href="https://www.finma.ch/en/enforcement/recovery-and-resolution/too-big-to-fail-and-financial-stability/systemically-important-banks/#:~:text=The%20Swiss%20National%20Bank%20has,PostFinance%20as%20systemically%20important%20banks." target="_blank" rel="noopener">designated</a> UBS and three other financial institutions as systemically important banks.
“The solution that has been drafted now is that if all comes good, UBS makes a huge profit,” Rechsteiner added in the Bloomberg interview. “They got Credit Suisse for nothing at all and the government is backing the losses.”
The implosion of Credit Suisse, which had been struggling for several years, occurred after Silicon Valley Bank, one of the largest financial institutions in the United States, collapsed as depositors <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/regulators-shut-down-major-tech-bank-after-run-on-savings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rushed</a> to withdraw their funds and the company suffered heavy losses from the sale of a long-term bond portfolio. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation now directs holdings maintained by Silicon Valley Bank, which California state regulators closed on March 10, as well as Signature Bank in New York, which was closed on March 12.
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Financial authorities <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/substantial-interest-for-collapsed-silicon-valley-bank-as-feds-auction-off-whats-left" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed</a> that “there has been substantial interest from multiple parties” from banks seeking to acquire all or part of Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, the entity established by officials to manage the company’s remaining operations.
The vast majority of deposits at Silicon Valley Bank, which offered services to nearly half of the venture-backed technology and healthcare firms in the United States, exceeded the $250,000 threshold insured by the FDIC. Authorities rushed to guarantee all deposits at Silicon Valley Bank such that the rest of the financial system, in which roughly half of deposits surpass $250,000, would remain protected from bank runs.

Credit Suisse shares Drop Following Concern Over Financial Health

Swiss Rescue Of Major Bank Creates Five-Figure Tax Liability For Each Citizen

Swiss Rescue Of Major Bank Creates $13,500 Tax Liability For Each Citizen

Switzerland

Taxes

World

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced on Monday that the bidding process for remaining assets at the defunct <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/silicon-valley-bank" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Silicon Valley Bank</a> would be extended due to “substantial interest” from possible acquirers.
Silicon Valley Bank, one of the largest financial institutions in the United States, collapsed earlier this month as depositors <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/regulators-shut-down-major-tech-bank-after-run-on-savings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rushed</a> to withdraw their funds and the company suffered heavy losses from the liquidation of a long-term bond portfolio. The FDIC now directs holdings maintained by Silicon Valley Bank, which California state regulators closed on March 10, as well as Signature Bank in New York, which was closed two days later.
FDIC officials established Silicon Valley Bridge Bank and appointed new senior management in the wake of the firm’s implosion. The government-backed corporation will permit other banks, as well as non-bank financial companies, to submit offers for the acquisition of Silicon Valley Bridge Bank or propose bids on particular deposits and assets.
“There has been substantial interest from multiple parties, and the FDIC and the bidders need more time to explore all options in order to maximize value and achieve an optimal outcome,” the FDIC said in a <a href="https://www.fdic.gov/news/press-releases/2023/pr23022.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>, which added that bids for Silicon Valley Bridge Bank must be submitted by Friday.
The vast majority of deposits at Silicon Valley Bank, which offered services to nearly half of the venture-backed technology and healthcare firms in the United States, exceeded the $250,000 threshold typically insured by the FDIC. Regulators scrambled to guarantee all deposits at Silicon Valley Bank such that the remainder of the financial system, in which roughly half of the deposits surpass $250,000, would remain protected from bank runs.
The FDIC added that the 17 branches formerly operated by Silicon Valley Bank in California and Massachusetts continue to operate under Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, while customers “have full access to all of their money” through the new entity.
New York Community Bancorp acquired the 40 former branches of Signature Bridge Bank on Sunday for more than $38 billion and will service the defunct firm’s clients via Flagstar Bank, according to a <a href="https://www.fdic.gov/news/press-releases/2023/pr23021.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> from the FDIC. The two largest banks in Switzerland, UBS and Credit Suisse, likewise <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/switzerlands-two-largest-banks-to-combine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">merged</a> over the weekend as the former purchased the latter for more than $3 billion. Credit Suisse, formerly the eighth-largest investment bank in the world, had <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/collapsing-too-big-to-fail-bank-receives-massive-support-from-swiss-authorities" target="_blank" rel="noopener">struggled</a> over the past several years under lackluster risk and compliance management.
Many have expressed concern that the tumult in the global banking industry could produce greater consolidation in the sector as government agencies avert a financial crisis by permitting large firms to combine. First Republic Bank received $30 billion in liquidity to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/shares-in-first-republic-bank-plummet-even-after-rescue-deal-from-big-banks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cover</a> deposits last week from companies such as JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America in a move that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg, and Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu said was “most welcome.”
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The White House asked lawmakers to introduce regulations meant to “hold senior management accountable when their banks fail” or enter into the control of the FDIC and <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/03/12/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-actions-to-strengthen-confidence-in-the-banking-system/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vowed</a> that “the American people and American businesses can have confidence that their bank deposits will be there when they need them.” Yellen nevertheless <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/janet-yellen-admits-community-banks-in-middle-america-might-not-be-protected-like-silicon-valley-bank" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admitted</a> last week that authorities would only protect uninsured deposits at banks whose failure would “create systemic risk.”

US-BANKRUPTCY-BANKING-SVB

‘Substantial Interest’ For Collapsed Silicon Valley Bank As Feds Auction Off What’s Left

‘Substantial Interest’ For Imploded Silicon Valley Bank From Potential Buyers

Banking

Some 186 <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/banks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">financial institutions</a> in the United States are vulnerable to a collapse if uninsured depositors seek to withdraw their funds, according to a <a href="https://deliverypdf.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=779068125074112107121084083015111028034002008002053038105112004071104014117127112124043110106115033100010089098117123118096069123000008015072068095118126094103084034079016008093075114109086025090008073127016024074126064093119091079072093027014067110&amp;EXT=pdf&amp;INDEX=TRUE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> from analysts with the National Bureau of Economic Research.
The research comes shortly after the collapse of <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/silicon-valley-bank" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Silicon Valley Bank</a>, where the vast majority of accounts exceeded the $250,000 threshold guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Financial authorities scrambled to back all deposits at Silicon Valley Bank such that the remainder of the financial system, in which roughly half of deposits surpass $250,000, would remain safeguarded against bank runs.
Silicon Valley Bank had been forced to cover withdrawals by selling a bond portfolio that had declined substantially in value amid Federal Reserve actions to reduce inflation by promoting a higher economy-wide interest rate environment. The study found that monetary tightening from the Federal Reserve has caused bank asset values to decline by 10%, indicating that the overall financial system’s assets are $2 trillion lower than suggested by their book value.
The analysts noted that prior to the Federal Reserve hiking the target federal funds rate by a collective 4.5% over the past year, the banking system would have been solvent if half of the uninsured depositors attempted to withdraw their balances and if all uninsured depositors attempted to withdraw their balances. The “substantial losses in the value of banks’ long-duration assets” induced by the higher interest rates now implies that “banks are much more fragile” to runs by uninsured depositors, the customers with more than $250,000 in their combined accounts with a given financial institution.
Some 1,619 of the 4,800 banks examined by the researchers would not be able to withstand all uninsured account holders attempting to withdraw their funds, while 186 banks would not be unable to withstand half of uninsured depositors demanding their funds. Both scenarios presupposed that the banks would not be forced to sell their long-term assets at fire sale prices to cover withdrawals. The scenario of all uninsured depositors seeking to pull their funds is “likely too extreme, although not impossible once the news of a run spreads.”
Some 78% of assets at Silicon Valley Bank were funded by uninsured deposits, placing the bank in the first percentile with respect to uninsured leverage even as the company was not an outlier with respect to the overall ratio between equity and assets.
Silicon Valley Bank offered services to nearly half of the venture-backed technology and healthcare firms in the United States; businesses typically deposit far more than $250,000 to cover operations as well as several months’ worth of expenses under a potential crisis. Lawmakers such as Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-democrats-say-fdic-should-reexamine-250000-deposit-insurance-threshold" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suggested</a> that Congress reconsider the $250,000 deposit insurance threshold.
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President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/03/12/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-actions-to-strengthen-confidence-in-the-banking-system/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vowed</a> after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, where the vast majority of deposits were likewise uninsured, that “the American people and American businesses can have confidence that their bank deposits will be there when they need them.” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/janet-yellen-admits-community-banks-in-middle-america-might-not-be-protected-like-silicon-valley-bank" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> authorities would only protect uninsured deposits at banks whose failure would “create systemic risk and significant financial and economic consequences.” Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) had pressed Yellen about whether uninsured deposits at community banks “regardless of their size” would be “fully insured.”

US regulators shut down Silicon Valley Bank amid sudden collapse

Nearly 200 Other Banks Vulnerable To SVB-Style Collapse, Study Says

186 Other Banks Vulnerable To SVB-Style Collapse, Study Says

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/switzerland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Switzerland</a>&#8216;s two largest banks are poised to merge in a deal regulators sought to help create stability as volatility rocks financial institutions around the globe.
UBS, the larger of the pair, agreed on Sunday to buy troubled competitor Credit Suisse for more than $3 billion, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/ubs-offers-1-billion-to-take-over-credit-suisse-bfac51fa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to The Wall Street Journal</a>.
&#8220;With the takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS, a solution has been found to secure financial stability and protect the Swiss economy in this exceptional situation,&#8221; <a href="https://www.snb.ch/en/mmr/reference/pre_20230319/source/pre_20230319.en.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said the Swiss National Bank</a>.
The exact details of the arrangement are not all fully clear, but the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/ec4be743-052a-4381-a923-c2fbd7ea9cfd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Financial Times reported</a> that Swiss authorities were working to speed up the process by changing laws to bypass a shareholder vote.
In addition, the Swiss National Bank said it would offer a loan of up to 100 billion Swiss francs ($108 billion) to support the takeover, and the Swiss government pledged to cover about 9 billion francs ($9.7 billion) worth of potential losses for assets being taken over by UBS, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/19/ubs-agrees-to-buy-credit-suisse-as-regulators-look-to-shore-up-global-banking-system.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per CNBC</a>.
Swiss President Alain Berset said the deal is “one of great breadth for the stability of international finance,&#8221; <a href="https://apnews.com/article/credit-suisse-ubs-bank-collapse-svb-swiss-1a06bc96cbca9be4fbfd20a8f008ab8f?utm_source=homepage&amp;utm_medium=TopNews&amp;utm_campaign=position_01" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Associated Press reported</a>. &#8220;An uncontrolled collapse of Credit Suisse would lead to incalculable consequences for the country and the international financial system.&#8221;
The Financial Stability Board, <a href="https://www.fsb.org/about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an international group</a> that assesses the global financial system, considers Credit Suisse to be one of 30 <a href="https://www.fsb.org/wp-content/uploads/P211122.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“systemically important” banks</a>.
With its shares plummeting by 75% in the past 12 months, Credit Suisse received a lifeline of 50 billion franks, or $54 billion, from the Swiss central bank last week, but CNN reported that did not <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/17/investing/credit-suisse-shares-drop-despite-lifeline/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fully reassure investors</a>. The purchase price reported on Sunday would be less than half the 7.4 billion francs Credit Suisse was worth at the close of trading on Friday, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-19/ubs-agrees-to-buy-credit-suisse-in-historic-deal-to-end-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to Bloomberg News</a>.
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Credit Suisse, which is nearly 167 years old, reportedly had about 50,000 employees by the end of 2022 while UBS has about 74,000 employees around the world.
News of the purchase comes after Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and Silvergate Bank collapsed this month, after which the U.S. federal government took steps to protect depositors.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen assured Congress last week that the U.S. financial system “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/yellen-tells-lawmakers-that-the-american-banking-system-remains-sound-after-two-banks-collapse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">remains sound</a>,” and 11 major banks offered $30 billion in deposits to assist the struggling First Republic Bank.
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett reportedly spoke with Biden administration officials in recent days about contending with the banking crisis, including <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/warren-buffett-talks-with-biden-officials-about-possible-bank-investment-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a possible investment</a> into the U.S. regional banking sector.

Credit Suisse

Switzerland’s Two Largest Banks To Combine

Switzerland's Two Largest Banks To Combine

A top House Republican expressed skepticism about calls to increase the federal <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/banks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bank</a> deposit insurance cap.
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry (R-NC) cast doubt on such proposals Sunday on CBS News&#8217;s &#8220;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/video/full-interview-rep-patrick-mchenry/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Face the Nation</a>.&#8221; Democrats have floated raising the FDIC bank deposit insurance cap from $250,000 to between $2-10 million. But McHenry said that Congress needs to balance the costs and risks to the financial system before making such a consequential change.
&#8220;It&#8217;s the first time I&#8217;ve heard a proposal like that,&#8221; McHenry said. &#8220;And I have not had a single conversation with the White House or the administration about deposit insurance, changing the levels. What I will do though, legislatively, and in an oversight function is to determine whether or not we need to address the FDIC deposit level. We did it after the last financial crisis raising from $100,000 to $250,000. We had a temporary program, post-financial crisis to support deposits, to ensure that folks had confidence in their local bank.&#8221;
But McHenry stressed the need to balance the benefits and the risks.
&#8220;What I want to know is the trade-off though, the moral hazard of having more risk-taking in the financial sector, and also the impact it would have on community banks,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We have far fewer community banks now than we&#8217;ve had in generations. That&#8217;s a significant problem for competition in the financial services arena.
&#8220;It is not a pure play of allowing a larger set of insurance coverage,&#8221; he added, &#8220;It costs the financial system significantly, and especially community banks. We need to look very carefully at this.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-democrats-say-fdic-should-reexamine-250000-deposit-insurance-threshold" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Top Democrats</a> on the committees overseeing the financial sector called for the FDIC to increase the deposit insurance threshold on bank accounts in the wake of the Silicon Valley Bank collapse. The vast majority of depositors at the bank exceeded the $250,000 limit. Regulators scrambled to guarantee all deposits at SVB to avoid bank runs.
California Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters, who serves on the House Financial Services Committee, floated the idea in an interview with The New York Times Tuesday.
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“When you have something like Silicon Valley Bank with over 90% of its depositors uninsured, do we increase the amount of premiums that banks will pay in order to have a bigger insurance fund or do we just remain the way that we are and take it on a one-by-one basis for consideration?” she said.
Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, a member of the Senate Banking Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, said Congress should “reexamine, just overall, about why we have limits” at the $250,000 threshold.
“Some small business, some nonprofit, needs a place to manage its money,” she said in an interview with CNBC, via The Hill. “They need to be able to make payroll, they need to be able to pay the utility bills, and they need a safe place to have that money where somebody’s going to keep it safe.”
Warren on Sunday <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/elizabeth-warren-fdic-insurance-cap-lift-silicon-valley-bank/">said</a> raising the cap has &#8220;got to be on the table right now.&#8221;
&#8220;I think that lifting the FDIC insurance cap is a good move,&#8221; said Warren. &#8220;Now the question is, where&#8217;s the right number on lifting it?&#8230; This is a question we got to work through. Is-is it $2 million? Is it $5 million? Is it 10 million?&#8221;

Rep. Patrick McHenry

Top House Republican Skeptical Of Calls To Raise FDIC Insurance Cap: ‘More Risk Taking In The Financial Sector’

Top House Republican Skeptical Of Calls To Raise FDIC Insurance Cap

Congress

Democrats

Face The Nation

House Republicans

Politics

Billionaire investor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/warren-buffett-denies-bernie-sanders-request-to-intervene-in-labor-strike" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Warren Buffett</a> reportedly spoke with Biden administration officials in recent days about contending with the banking crisis.
No formal statement has been released about the conversations, but sources told <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-18/warren-buffett-in-contact-with-biden-officials-on-banking-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bloomberg News</a> they focused, in part, on investments into the U.S. regional banking sector.
Buffett, 92, also offered broad advice on how to deal with the financial situation, per the report.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The world&#39;s 6th richest man Warren Buffett has been in contact with the Biden administration amid the U.S. regional banking crisis, per Bloomberg. 
Buffett has given advice, and the calls have reportedly also centered around Buffett potentially investing in struggling banks. <a href="https://t.co/U0NkK1Vhn8">pic.twitter.com/U0NkK1Vhn8</a>
&mdash; The Recount (@therecount) <a href="https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1637435673031442434?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
News of the talks come after Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and Silvergate Bank collapsed this month, after which the federal government <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/federal-reserve-rolls-out-emergency-measures-to-prevent-banking-crisis-ba4d7f98" target="_blank" rel="noopener">took steps</a> to protect depositors.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/yellen-tells-lawmakers-that-the-american-banking-system-remains-sound-after-two-banks-collapse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">assured Congress</a> last week that the U.S. financial system “remains sound,&#8221; and 11 major banks <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/03/16/1163958533/first-republic-bank-silicon-valley-bank-signature-bank-bank-run" target="_blank" rel="noopener">offered $30 billion</a> in deposits to assist the struggling First Republic Bank.
Still, concerns about a looming recession linger, and the markets <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/17/business/economy/economy-banks-recession.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have been volatile</a>.
Buffett, who runs Berkshire Hathaway, has a history of stepping in to help banks in distress over the years.
Berkshire Hathaway put <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/warren-buffett-berkshire-hathaway-goldman-sachs-sale-billions-return-bailout-2020-5-1029212109" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$5 billion into Goldman Sachs</a> to help steady it during the 2008 global financial crisis. Buffett also <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/warren-buffett-invested-5-billion-bank-of-america-made-fortune-2020-10-1029690339" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invested $5 billion</a> in Bank of America during the 2011 debt-ceiling crisis.

Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett Talks With Biden Officials About Possible Bank Investment: Report

Biden Administration

Business

The following is the opening satirical monologue from “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1122-sex-money-and-conservatism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Andrew Klavan Show.</a>“
I know that many of you are confused about exactly why the Silicon Valley Bank went bust. Well, you’ve come to the right place because this is a political commentary podcast, so the fact that I don’t understand this subject at all won’t stop me from explaining it to you.
The first thing you have to understand is that Democrats believe in socialism. Socialism is an economic system in which powerful people help the poor by taking money from the middle class and giving it to the rich so the rich will give the powerful people more power to help the poor by taking money from the middle class to give to the rich.
In the case of Silicon Valley Bank, the powerful Democrats needed more money to give to the rich to get more power to help the poor, so they printed worthless pieces of paper and called them &#8220;dollars&#8221; and gave them to the poor who passed them on to the rich in return for Hulu subscriptions and lawn chairs. The rich said, “Hooray! Now we have worthless dollar papers! We will put them in bonds and useless green nonsense businesses where they will magically turn into money.” They also donated millions to a Gay Pride organization, who used the millions to buy some rainbow-colored pencils, and a vacation for 12 in Thailand.
Then came inflation, which was &#8220;transitory,&#8221; which means permanent.
At this point, people panicked and there was a run on the bank like in the movie “It’s A Wonderful Life.” In fact, just like in “It’s A Wonderful Life,” the bank manager came out to the panicked people and said you can’t have your money, because your money is in that guy’s house, and your money is in this guy’s house, and your money is in another guy’s house because those three guys are crooks and stole all your money. Then the bank manager gave everyone a free rainbow pencil.
Acting quickly to reassure the public, President and Venal Houseplant Joe Biden shuffled slowly to a podium with his eyes glazed and his mouth hanging open and made a slurred speech saying that everything would be all right because he would give the rich people back their money from taxes taken from the middle class because that’s socialism. Biden also explained that the bank failure was Donald Trump’s fault because Donald Trump was such a bad president that everything Biden touches turns to crap. Then Biden shuffled slowly out of the room before anyone could ask him any questions, because questions might spoil the reassuring effect of the slurred speech he made with his mouth hanging open.
The White House then issued a statement which said, [quote] “The president’s bailout of the Silicon Valley bank is not a bank bailout, and this is not a statement issued by the White House.” [unquote] The New York Times, a former newspaper, immediately hailed the statement as a brilliant piece of post-modern literature, and the White House celebrated by releasing a bright red balloon that carried a speaker over Pennsylvania Avenue repeatedly saying, “It’s all Trump’s fault,” in a very high-pitched voice because it was a helium balloon and the celebration had gotten out of hand.
On the positive side, the Silicon Valley Bank’s board of directors was very diverse. Some board members had given huge donations to Hillary Clinton, some to Barack Obama, and some to Nancy Pelosi. Unfortunately, none of them had any actual board experience, except one but that was with a Ouija Board, which did at least spell out the words, “You are about to get a big surprise. Your bank is out of money.”
Now, you may have heard many journalists say that bailing the bank out after it acted so stupidly could create a [quote-unquote] “moral hazard.” And you may have asked yourself “What’s a moral hazard and why don’t journalists&#8217; heads burst into flame when they say the word moral — that would be both funny and appropriate?” Well, a moral hazard is when rich people do something stupid and lose their money and the government gives them your money so that the rich people dance around the room and say, “Hooray! Now we can do more stupid things forever and nothing bad will ever happen to us because there’s a moral hazard so we get everybody’s money.” So basically a moral hazard is pretty much the same thing as socialism.
Now that I’ve explained the banking crisis to you, you’re probably wondering: “Will this affect me personally or can I just go back to watching porn?” That depends. If it’s the kind of porn where you need an online subscription, you can’t go back to watching it because you have no money because, now, banks all around the world have started collapsing, because Donald Trump was such a bad president that Joe Biden has ruined everything.
But here’s a free rainbow pencil.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Andrew Klavan</a> is the host of The Andrew Klavan Show at The Daily Wire. A popular political satirist and Hollywood screenwriter, Klavan is also an award-winning novelist. His newest novel is <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Strange-Habit-Mind-Cameron-Mysteries/dp/1613163517/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=&amp;sr=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Strange Habit of Mind</a>, book two in the Cameron Winter Mystery series.
The views expressed in this satirical article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

The Real Reason Silicon Valley Bank Failed

Andrew Klavan

Joe Biden

Readers Pass

Satire

The <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">White House</a> asked lawmakers on Friday to increase penalties for senior <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/banks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bank</a> executives who preside over the collapse of their firms.
Silicon Valley Bank, one of the largest financial institutions in the United States, collapsed last week as depositors <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/regulators-shut-down-major-tech-bank-after-run-on-savings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rushed</a> to withdraw their funds after the company suffered heavy losses from the liquidation of a long-term bond portfolio. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation now directs holdings maintained by Silicon Valley Bank, which California state regulators closed on March 10, as well as Signature Bank in New York, which was closed on Sunday.
The Biden administration asserted that members of Congress should increase federal authority to “hold senior management accountable when their banks fail” or enter into the control of the FDIC. White House officials said that the government-backed corporation should have additional powers to seize executive compensation and benefits, noting that former Silicon Valley Bank CEO Greg Becker sold more than $3 million in shares days before the bank collapsed.
“The FDIC only has clawback authority under the Dodd-Frank Act’s special resolution authority, which applies to the very largest financial institutions,” a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/03/17/fact-sheet-president-biden-urges-congressional-action-to-strengthen-accountability-for-senior-bank-executives/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> from the White House said. “That authority should be extended to cover a broader set of large banks, including banks the size of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.”
Current law allows the FDIC to prohibit bank executives from receiving new positions at other banks if they engage in “willful or continuing disregard for the safety and soundness” of their institution. Senior administration officials called on lawmakers to “strengthen this tool by lowering the legal standard for imposing this prohibition,” as well as expand authorization for the FDIC to collect fines from executives “when their actions contribute to the failure of their firms.”
President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/03/12/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-actions-to-strengthen-confidence-in-the-banking-system/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vowed</a> after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank that “the American people and American businesses can have confidence that their bank deposits will be there when they need them.” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen nevertheless <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/janet-yellen-admits-community-banks-in-middle-america-might-not-be-protected-like-silicon-valley-bank" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Thursday that financial authorities would only protect uninsured deposits at banks whose failure would “create systemic risk and significant financial and economic consequences.” Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) had pressed Yellen about whether uninsured deposits at community banks in his state “regardless of their size” would be “fully insured.”
The current threshold of $250,000 is suitable for most individuals, yet businesses such as those served by Silicon Valley Bank often retain larger sums to conduct operations and pay employees. Lawmakers such as Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-democrats-say-fdic-should-reexamine-250000-deposit-insurance-threshold" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suggested</a> that Congress should reconsider the $250,000 threshold.
Warren also <a href="https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/icymi-warren-delivers-speech-on-bank-failures-and-new-bill-to-reverse-trump-era-deregulation-of-banking-rules" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced</a> legislation that would repeal portions of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, which was signed by former President Donald Trump to lessen oversight for banks between $50 billion and $250 billion in assets.
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“The FDIC was forced to rush in to take over two failing banks, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, and then take extraordinary actions to protect those banks’ customers and prevent the contagion from spreading throughout the economy,” she commented. “If Congress and the Federal Reserve had not rolled back key provisions of Dodd-Frank, these banks would have been subject to stronger liquidity and capital requirements to help withstand financial shocks.”

President Biden Returns To The White House From Pennsylvania

Biden Calls For Crackdown On Senior Bank Executives

Biden Exhorts Congress To Crack Down On Senior Bank Executives

Shares in First Republic Bank plummeted some 26% on Friday morning even after a rescue deal backed by a number of large <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/banks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">financial institutions</a>.
Wells Fargo, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jp-morgan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JPMorgan Chase</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/bank-of-america" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bank of America</a>, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/citigroup" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Citigroup</a> each offered to contribute $5 billion of liquidity to assist First Republic Bank, which is heavily involved in wealth management and has many customers with deposits exceeding the $250,000 threshold protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Banks such as Truist Financial and BNY Mellon also contributed to the overall $30 billion arrangement.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg, and Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu said in a <a href="https://www.fdic.gov/news/press-releases/2023/pr23020.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> that the “show of support” is “most welcome” and “demonstrates the resilience of the banking system.”
Share prices for First Republic Bank, which had exceeded $147 as of last month, nevertheless fell below $26 as of Friday morning, indicating an 83% decline. Executives <a href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-news-today-03-17-2023/card/first-republic-stock-falls-after-board-suspends-dividend-IkURlkcTfzQv3t4zChTc">announced</a> on Thursday that they would suspend the company’s dividend.
John Heagerty, an analyst at Atlantic Equities, downgraded First Republic Bank and noted that the firm may need another $5 billion in capital. “Management is exploring different strategic options which may include a full sale or divestments of parts of the loan portfolio,” Heagerty remarked, according to a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/17/first-republic-shares-fall-despite-deposit-infusion-dragging-down-other-regional-banks.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from CNBC. “The limited information provided implies that the balance sheet has increased substantially, which may well necessitate a capital raise.”
Wedbush Securities likewise downgraded the company and noted that a distressed merger could “result in minimal, if any, residual value to common equity holders,” according to a <a href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-news-today-03-17-2023/card/first-republic-still-faces-dire-outlook-analysts-say-SqHSubQsEugswRaAx1Zy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from The Wall Street Journal. Analysts nevertheless believe that a sale of First Republic Bank to a larger financial institution “should be beneficial for the banking system as a whole, and should help ease contagion fears.&#8221;
Shares of First Republic Bank had declined some 73% between March 8 and March 13, the time horizon over which Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank were shuttered by the FDIC as depositors rushed to withdraw funds. Prices for First Republic Bank had risen more than 10% on Thursday amid the deposit assistance discussions.
First Republic Bank maintains $271 billion in assets, an amount comparable to the $212 billion maintained by Silicon Valley Bank and the $110 billion maintained by Signature Bank. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo control $3.7 trillion, $3.1 trillion, $2.4 trillion, and $1.9 trillion respectively, a phenomenon noted by those who observe that the collapse of smaller banks could induce consolidation in the financial sector.
As with First Republic Bank, the vast majority of deposits at Silicon Valley Bank, which offered services to nearly half of the venture-backed technology and healthcare firms in the United States, exceeded the $250,000 threshold typically insured by the FDIC. Regulators scrambled to guarantee all deposits at Silicon Valley Bank such that the remainder of the financial system, in which roughly half of deposits surpass $250,000, would remain protected from bank runs.
Yellen nevertheless <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/janet-yellen-admits-community-banks-in-middle-america-might-not-be-protected-like-silicon-valley-bank" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asserted</a> on Thursday that financial regulators were more likely to favor large banks whose implosion could “create systemic risk and significant financial and economic consequences” when deciding whether to protect deposits above the insurance threshold.

Financial Markets Continue Volatile Week As Problems At Banks Spook Investors

Shares In First Republic Bank Plummet Even After Rescue Deal From Big Banks

First Republic Bank Stock Plummets Even After Rescue Deal From Big Banks

Stock Market

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/treasury-department" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Treasury</a> Secretary <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/janet-yellen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Janet Yellen</a> admitted in a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-senate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senate</a> Finance Committee hearing Thursday that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Federal Reserve might not guarantee large deposits at small community <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/banks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">banks</a> like they did for a failed California bank.
The vast majority of deposits at <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/silicon-valley-bank" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Silicon Valley Bank</a>, which offered services to nearly half of the venture-backed technology and healthcare firms in the United States before its <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/parent-company-of-silicon-valley-bank-explores-bankruptcy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">collapse</a> last week, exceeded the $250,000 threshold insured by the FDIC. Regulators scrambled to guarantee all deposits at Silicon Valley Bank such that the remainder of the financial system, in which roughly half of deposits surpass $250,000, would remain safeguarded against bank runs.
Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) questioned Yellen about whether uninsured deposits at community banks in his state “regardless of their size” would likewise be “fully insured.” Yellen replied that a bank “only gets that treatment” if supermajorities of board members at the FDIC and Federal Reserve, as well as she and President Joe Biden, decide that “the failure to protect uninsured depositors would create systemic risk and significant financial and economic consequences.”
Community banks typically operate in small geographic areas and focus on the needs of businesses and families in their immediate vicinity.
Lankford noted that such an approach to deposit insurance has already prompted sizable account holders to move their funds into large financial institutions.
“We have seen the mergers of banks over the past decade,” the lawmaker said. “I am concerned you are about to accelerate that by encouraging anyone who has a large deposit in a community bank to say, ‘We are not going to make you whole, but if you go to one of our preferred banks, we will make you whole.’”
When Yellen said that her agency and other financial regulators are by no means attempting to push large depositors away from small banks, Lankford responded that the phenomenon is “happening right now” because “you are fully insured, no matter what the amount is, if you are in a big bank,” while “you are not fully insured if you are in a community bank.”
Yellen, originally scheduled to testify on the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/more-taxes-and-more-spending-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-president-bidens-newest-budget" target="_blank" rel="noopener">budget proposal</a> submitted last week by the White House, started her <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/yellen-tells-lawmakers-that-the-american-banking-system-remains-sound-after-two-banks-collapse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">remarks</a> by informing lawmakers that the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve, and the FDIC successfully protected all deposits at Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. The assets for account holders at both defunct financial institutions were provided by the Deposit Insurance Fund, which is funded by fees on banks.
Lankford also expressed concern that community banks in Oklahoma would be forced to pay an additional special assessment to protect the deposits of the “large number of Chinese investors” and “companies directly connected to the Chinese Communist Party” who had accounts at Silicon Valley Bank. Yellen confirmed that all uninsured investors “will be made whole in that bank,” including foreign depositors, since there is no “legal basis to discriminate among uninsured depositors.”
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) raised similar concerns in a <a href="https://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=965E5182-B8C8-4625-8D8C-7E60AF2E425D" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to Yellen which noted that Silicon Valley Bank had partnered with Shanghai Pudon Development Bank to finance startups in China. The lawmaker requested information regarding whether Chinese depositors can “expect to receive federal reimbursements from the Deposit Insurance Fund and other federal relief.”

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen Testifies To Senate Committee On President Biden’s FY2024 Budget

Janet Yellen Admits Community Banks In Middle America Might Not Be Protected Like Silicon Valley Bank

Yellen Makes Shocking Admission About Banking System In Exchange With Oklahoma Senator

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