Attorneys General Blame Biden's Policies For Failed Silicon Valley Bank

The GOP is dropping the hammer on President Biden, blaming his failed policies for the recent crash of Silicon Valley Bank.

"Sixteen Republican Attorneys General are blaming President Joe Biden’s leftist climate and energy agenda for helping to crash a major Silicon Valley bank," reports Breitbart.

The letter from the sixteen attorneys general begins, "We write today to discuss how attempts to harness the federal financial regulatory apparatus in service of left-wing political goals are related to the recent high-profile failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB)."

"SVB appears to have been focused more on environmental issues than safe and sound operations, which is perfectly consistent with your regulatory approach," the letter adds.

"The letter follows the collapse of SVB earlier this month, which has been referred to as the 'Death of the Climate Bank.' It had been reported that the bank was involved in 60 percent of community solar financing nationwide, which the Attorneys General say aligns with the Biden administration’s 'preferred regulatory posture' and the administration’s 'whole of government' approach to fighting climate change," reports Breitbart.

The letter from the group continued:

To put it bluntly, the administration’s zealotry in fighting climate change by unwisely—and illegally—attempting to convert federal financial regulators into environmental activists is inextricably intertwined with these bank failures and the fallout from them. Your warping of the financial regulatory system undermines both the safe and sound operation of financial institutions and the public’s faith in the fairness and efficacy of the regulatory regime. We urge you to change course and refocus your efforts on managing actual financial risk.

It is time to turn away from this mistaken path and refocus federal efforts on actual financial risks that have the ability to do real harm to the national economy. Attempting to use the financial system to pursue environmental goals does nothing but increase risk. For example, banks that refused to do business with coal companies, but rushed to partner with green technology companies, made the wrong bet over the past two years, as coal company cash flow has skyrocketed while rising interest rates have exposed the weakness in many green energy business models. Serving a diversified customer base means having customers who generate cash flow that can help a financial institution offset the struggles of other customers.

You should publicly direct banks to pursue profitability, liquidity, and prudent risk management and note that declining to serve customers for failing to comply with unrealistic climate initiatives like achieving net zero by 2050 is a threat to the financial system. You should make clear that no agency, nor any agency personnel, has authority to pressure any bank to increase its exposure to net-zero compliant customers or to decline to do business with companies for not being net-zero compliant. You should also direct banks to stop setting emissions reductions targets that are inherently arbitrary and undermine public confidence in the financial system.

SVB is now under FDIC control, and depositors have access to their money through a bridge bank.