All eyes are on the Federal Reserve's next move in this "wobbly" economic moment

Mar 20, 2023
The inflation threat calls for one type of action, and the banking turmoil calls for another. How will the Fed respond?
Chairman Jerome Powell and other policymakers at the central bank will reveal their interest rate decision Wednesday. The Fed is also taking steps to stabilize the condition of regional banks and protect depositors.
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Are bank supervisors, or bank rules, too lax?

Mar 20, 2023
Do banking rules need tightening? Do supervisors need better training and greater powers? The answer will influence what comes next.
Politicians and lobbyists are debating whether Silicon Valley Bank collapsed due to a regulatory or supervisory failure. Above, Sen. Charles Grassley confers with Sen. John Cornyn during a Finance Committee hearing.
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How freaked out are consumers these days?

Mar 17, 2023
Consumer sentiment isn't as gloomy as the failure of Silicon Valley Bank might lead you to expect.
According to a University of Michigan survey, consumer sentiment fell this month. But people seem to be more worried about their grocery bills and dwindling savings than about tremors in the financial system.
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Silicon Valley Bank's collapse reveals deeper flaws in the venture capital industry

Mar 16, 2023
VCs have been among the loudest voices calling for government insurance amidst SVB’s collapse, after pulling their funds out of the struggling bank.
Prominent venture capitalists were quick to call for government insurance of all Silicon Valley Bank's deposits after its collapse Friday.
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Could the Fed's new emergency bank lending program encourage risky behavior?

The Fed's new program may incentivize banks to take more risks, says analyst Joseph Wang.
The Fed's freshly created Bank Term Funding Program could reduce the incentives for banks to follow good practices, says analyst Joseph Wang.
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Peers not lining up to buy Silicon Valley Bank's problems. Neither are the giants.

Mar 15, 2023
SVB has a "$15 billion hole," says Semafor’s Liz Hoffman. Banks big enough to take on the challenge were initially not invited to bid.
"I don't think there's a lot of appetite for big-bank CEOs" to acquire the failed SVB, Semafor's Liz Hoffman says.
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Financial meltdowns often spur changes to financial regulation. So where do we go from here?

Mar 14, 2023
Regulators didn't catch Silicon Valley Bank before it failed. What can they do to catch others?
The Federal Reserve Board announced yesterday that it’s going to review what happened with the Silicon Valley Bank closure. Time will tell if more regulations will be placed upon larger banks like SVB and if banks themselves will take a closer look at their own risk committees.
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For public good, not for profit.

Former Fed official who oversaw reforms sees "deep irony" after bank collapse

"We've just seen an uptick in moral hazard," Daniel Tarullo says of the U.S. government covering uninsured deposits.
"One of those pillars of Dodd-Frank — which is to let banks fail and people will have the right incentives — we just can't rely on that," said former Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo, seen above in 2014.
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Did regulation fail in the recent bank failures?

Regulators likely failed to catch and act upon red flags at both failed banks, argues Wharton professor Peter Conti-Brown.
Regulators likely failed to curtail poor practices at Signature Bank (pictured) and Silicon Valley Bank, said Wharton professor Peter Conti-Brown.
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Who's responsible for paying the failed banks’ depositors?

Mar 14, 2023
The money’s coming from a fund run by the FDIC that derives most of its revenue from banks.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which insures bank deposits, said it will shoulder the load of covering deposits at the failed Silicon Valley and Signature banks.
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