Biden Tries to Shore Up Confidence in Bank System

One of President Biden's first orders of business on Monday was to attempt to reassure Americans—and the financial markets—that the banking system is on solid ground after a tumultuous few days.

• "Your deposits will be there when you need them," said Biden in a national address, per CNN. "Small businesses across the country that have deposit accounts at these banks can breathe easier knowing they'll be able to pay their workers and pay their bills."
• Biden also promised an investigation into why Silicon Valley Bank collapsed last week, prompting regulators to take "extraordinary" steps to backstop depositors' money. A second large bank, Signature, collapsed over the weekend. Biden said managers involved in the bank failures would be replaced, per the Wall Street Journal.
• "This is an important point: No losses will be borne by the taxpayers," said Biden. "Let me repeat that: No losses will be borne by the taxpayers." Instead, the money will come from fees banks pay to the FDIC, reports the New York Times.

• Markets: So far, investors don't seem to be too rattled. Both the Dow and the benchmark S&P 500 were up modestly in the first half-hour of trading on Monday morning. However, shares of regional banks in particular were sinking, notes CNBC. San Francisco's First Republic was down more than 60%, and others were in similar straits, including PacWest Bancorp (down 42%) and Western Alliance Bancorp (down about 70%).