ABA Statement on Government Reviews of Bank Failures

“Today’s reports from the Federal Reserve, FDIC and GAO highlight the combination of factors that led to the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Those factors include major management failures, concentrated customer and deposit bases, the unprecedented rise in interest rates and notably, the failure of banking regulators to use their available supervisory tools to direct management to address problems at these institutions before it was too late.

“We take any bank failure seriously, and we will review the findings and proposed policy changes in these reports carefully, including where the conclusions may differ. At the same time, we urge policymakers to refrain from pushing forward new and unrelated regulatory requirements that could limit the availability of credit and the ability of banks of all sizes to meet the needs of their customers and communities when these reports suggest that existing rules were sufficient.

“Finally, we want to highlight what these reports also make clear: the failures of these individual institutions reflect the unique circumstances at these banks and do not reflect the overall health and vitality of the U.S. banking sector.”