Congressional briefing on Silicon Valley Bank failure postponed

A scheduled Saturday afternoon briefing for members of California’s congressional delegation by officials from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation amid jitters about the downfall of the Silicon Valley Bank was postponed, according to two people familiar with the situation.

The Northern California bank’s Friday collapse marked the nation’s largest bank failure since the 2007 financial crisis and has raised concerns about ripple effects throughout the rest of the economy.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who represents Silicon Valley, said early Saturday on Twitter he wanted to ensure the bank’s depositors would be protected.

“The Treasury Department and FDIC must communicate loudly and clearly that depositors will be protected,” he wrote. “The investors and executives of SBV should bear risk and lose. But this should not mean that workers go without paychecks on Monday or small businesses collapse.”

Most of Silicon Valley Bank’s deposits were not insured by the FDIC because they were over the $250,000 limit for federally backed deposits.

The bank’s depositors had included many Silicon Valley startups and health care businesses that are now scrambling to meet payroll demands after the bank’s failure.

The briefing’s postponement comes as California lawmakers also brace for flooding in their state after heavy storms. The extreme weather could help alleviate drought conditions but could also bring heavy property damage in certain areas.

President Joe Biden discussed SVB’s collapse and the state’s severe weather with California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday, according to a White House pool report.