Lawmakers debate bank reform - Houston school takeover - Huge seaweed blob

Source: Bloomberg

1. Summary
   Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Katie Porter say 16 senators and 31 representatives (all Democrats) support their bill that would repeal a 2018 law easing 2010 regulations. The 2018 law raised the threshold at which a bank would be considered too big to fail from $50 billion to $250 billion. Banks above the threshold were required to have more capital on hand and undergo stress tests. SVB had $209 billion in assets in late 2022.
   
   The 2018 reform gave the Federal Reserve discretion to apply a more rigorous standard. The Fed in 2019 also eased its own liquidity requirements for banks with less than $700 billion in assets, like SVB. The Fed says it will investigate its own actions prior to SVB's collapse.
   
   Republicans say adequate safeguards are in place and lawmakers should instead investigate why regulators have not been more proactive. Lawmakers from both parties said that because SVB primarily held Treasuries, which are generally considered safe assets, higher capital or liquidity requirements would not have had much impact.

   Highly-rated - last 48 hrs
   Lawmakers from both parties skeptical of legislation over SVB.
   Roll Call (Center) • Factual Grade 79% • 7 min read
   

1. Different political viewpoint
   Silicon Valley Bank: Washington created the monster.
   City Journal (Right) • Factual Grade 77% • 7 min read

1. Selected long-read
   Years before SVB's collapse, federal regulators had granted it a special exemption.
   Jacobin (Left) • Factual Grade 79% • 9 min read

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