Washinton D.C. –U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) today, at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs delivered her opening remarks in which she expressed full faith of the American banking industry, which includes Alabama’s community banks, regional banks as well as credit unions.
Senator Britt has criticized the inability of regulators, like that of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco in its oversight of Silicon Valley Bank. She demanded an open hearing before the entire Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs in which all the responsible parties will be required to testify before all of American public.
The video clip of Senator Britt’s inquiry can be watched right here.
A transcription of Senator Britt’s comments follows:
I’ll begin by looking at some of the remarks we heard at the beginning of the hearing affirming that the system of banking is solid. The banks of the great Alabama state Alabama are robust. SVB is a clear example of regulators not doing their job, despite the fact that there were all the indicators and warnings were present. The Fed did not use the tools available to them to stop what we witnessed this week. I’d like to know why. I’m seeking answers. There are many people living in Alabama who are struggling to pay the bills and SVB gets bailout funds through the Biden Administration. Alabamans don’t want just answers, they need them. For me, at least am not going to stop until we have the answers. I agree with my fellow Ranking Members in asking for a hearing and I’m hopeful for the chairman to accomplish this and provide us with the chance to ensure that the parties responsible appear before us, allowing us to perform our duties.
Senator Britt is a member of the Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. She issued a statement regarding the Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank failures earlier in the week.
