Rep. Takano Slams Republicans’ Evasion of Accountability for Failed Bank Deregulation Policies
Washington, DC – Today, Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) released the following statement in response to the Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank failures directly resulting from the enactment of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act of 2018.
"The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank mark the second and third largest bank failures in U.S. history. These failures serve as stark reminders that rolling back the rigorous prudential standards that were required of the banking sector following the 2008 global financial crisis, as the Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans did in 2018, can spell disaster for small businesses and individuals across the country.
“I am encouraged that the Biden Administration has taken swift action to ensure depositors will still have access to their funds — so that they can pay their employees and stay open — without socializing the losses for investors. Taxpayers are not shouldering the burden here. As we learn even more about what happened at SVB and why, I stand ready to act in Congress to bring accountability to those responsible and push for new reforms to ensure this does not happen again.
“Unsurprisingly, Republicans are not being as swift to respond. Instead of working with the Administration to strengthen the financial sector and hold the largest banks accountable, Republicans are now desperately trying to deflect blame toward Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and “woke” culture on the recent failures. They are desperate to obscure the role of the 2018 bill supported by 225 Republicans that led directly to this catastrophe.
“Once again, Republican policies have failed the American people. It is time to reestablish strong regulations on these sorts of banks, to protect depositors and customers from the next SVB.”