During an appearance on "CNN This Morning" with co-host Poppy Harlow, a former head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) scoffed at comments made by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis about the collapse and government takeover of Silicon Valley Bank.
According to Sheila Bair, who headed the FDIC after being appointed by former President George W. Bush, there were systemic problems within the bank that led to its demise, before making the point that the DeSantis comments aren't worthy of being taken seriously.
With host Harlow noting that Bair is a Republican, the CNN host asked, "Final question. You're a Republican and we're hearing from a number of Republicans, including Ron DeSantis, [Missouri Senator] Josh Hawley who are pointing to the diversity equity and inclusion initiatives that Silicon Valley Bank or their ESG [Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance]."
"I see you roll your eyes there," Harlow continued as Bair could be heard laughing. "And they're saying they were focused on that and DeSantis says they were not focused on the, quote, 'core mission of the bank.' Any credence?"
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"Yeah," Bair smirked. "So, I guess you know both sides -- let's not politicize this and have agendas on regulation or ESG or whatever."
"Look, SVB, Silicon Valley Bank, did a really poor job of managing its interest rate risk," she elaborated. "It was mismanaged and it had an unusual deposit base. Those are things that make it a bit idiosyncratic in terms of the larger system -- not to say other banks may have issues."
"Again, I think fear and driving uninsured deposit withdrawals is the big problem we have now," she elaborated before warning, "Let's not politicize this. That's really not helpful, let's focus on what the real problems are."
Watch the video below or at this link.
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