Another one: US regulators shut down Signature Bank, citing "systemic risk," after Silicon Valley Bank's historic collapse
· Mar 12, 2023 · NottheBee.com

U.S. regulators have stepped in and shut down New York-based Signature Bank in a bid to prevent a banking crisis from spreading like wildfire. The Treasury, Federal Reserve, and FDIC announced in a joint statement Sunday evening that Signature Bank will be closing due to a "systemic risk exception."

The regulatory agencies have said that depositors at Signature Bank will have access to their deposits. At the same time they assured the public that "no losses will be borne by the taxpayer."

Signature Bank's closing represents the third-largest bank failure in U.S. history.

This news comes right on the heels of the tech-focused Silicon Valley Bank being shut down on Friday and having their assets seized by regulators.

Signature is a major bank to the cryptocurrency industry. As of the end of 2022, the bank had $110.4 billion in total assets and $88.6 billion in total deposits, according to a securities filing. For comparison, Silicon Valley Bank had roughly $209 billion in total assets and $175.4 billion in total deposits at the same time — and its collapse was the second largest in U.S. history.

The Fed and the Treasury have created a $25 billion emergency program to backstop deposits at both Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank using the Fed's emergency lending authority in an effort to slow the bleeding and stave off a full-on financial crisis.

"The Federal Reserve is prepared to address any liquidity pressures that may arise," the Fed said.

They are not calling it a "bailout," — remember, earlier today Janet Yellen said there would be no bailouts — but they're saying that all depositors at both banks will have access to their funds starting Monday, and that taxpayers will not be footing the bill.

Stay tuned.


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