Is my money safe? What you need to know about bank failures

The recent failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, which catered mostly to the tech industry, may have you worried about your money. They were the second- and third-biggest bank failures in U.S. history.

It all started last week when too many depositors tried to withdraw their money from Silicon Valley Bank in Santa Clara, California. That’s known as a bank run.

The bank had to sell treasury bonds and other securities at a steep loss and more people kept trying to withdraw money as word of the situation spread, causing the bank to fail. Regulators took control of New York-based Signature Bank soon after, saying it was necessary to protect depositors after too many people withdrew money.

In response, regulators guaranteed all deposits at the two banks and created a program to help shield other banks to shield them from a run on deposits.

IS MY MONEY SAFE?

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Biden says ‘the banking system is safe’ after Silicon Valley Bank shutdown

President Joe Biden said Monday that people should “rest assured” after his administration acted to ease uncertainties about the banking system in the wake of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last week, the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history.

The president spoke about the actions taken by his administration to give the country confidence that the banking system is safe.

“Thanks to the quick action of my administration over the past few days, Americans can have confidence that the banking system is safe,” Biden said. “Your deposits will be there when you need them.”

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Silicon Valley Bank is shut down by regulators in biggest bank failure since global financial crisis

Financial regulators have closed Silicon Valley Bank and taken control of its deposits, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced Friday, in what is the largest U.S. bank failure since the global financial crisis more than a decade ago.

FDIC plans to pay SVB depositors after bank fails

The collapse of SVB, a key player in the tech and venture capital community, leaves companies and wealthy individuals largely unsure of what will happen to their money.

According to press releases from regulators, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation closed SVB and named the FDIC as the receiver. The FDIC in turn has created the Deposit Insurance National Bank of Santa Clara, which now holds the insured deposits from SVB.

The FDIC said in the announcement that insured depositors will have access to their deposits no later than Monday morning. SVB’s branch offices will also reopen at that time, under the control of the regulator.

According to the press release, SVB’s official checks will continue to clear.

A Brinks armored truck sits parked in front of the shuttered Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) headquarters on March 10, 2023 in Santa Clara, California.

W.H.O. Declares Monkeypox Spread a Global Health Emergency

For the second time in two years, the World Health Organization has taken the extraordinary step of declaring a global emergency. This time the cause is monkeypox, which has spread in just a few weeks to dozens of countries and infected tens of thousands of people.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the W.H.O.’s director general, on Saturday overruled a panel of advisers, who could not come to a consensus, and declared a “public health emergency of international concern,” a designation the W.H.O. currently uses to describe only two other diseases, Covid-19 and polio.

 

“We have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly through new modes of transmission, about which we understand too little, and which meets the criteria” for a public health emergency, Dr. Tedros told reporters. It was apparently the first time that the director general had sidestepped his advisers to declare an emergency.

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U.S. health dept says doctors must offer abortion if mother’s life is at risk

The Biden administration said on Monday healthcare providers must offer abortion services if the life of a mother is at risk and that procedures conducted under such circumstances would be protected under federal law regardless of various state bans.

The guidance comes days after President Joe Biden signed an executive order easing access to services to terminate pregnancies after the U.S. top court’s decision last month to overturn the Roe v. Wade ruling.

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