According to a recent report from CNN, 2024 GOP presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis, “who blamed diversity initiatives for Silicon Valley Bank’s downfall, pushed for rollback of bank regulations under renewed scrutiny.”
While considering the GOP presidential primary, DeSantis has conveniently left out his own record on banking regulations — having been an “outspoken champion for lifting regulations on small and mid-sized financial institutions” and voting in 2018 “for a bill that eventually became law loosening oversight of mid-size banks like Silicon Valley Bank.”
By: Steve Contorno and Andrew Kaczynski | March 15, 2023
Key Points:
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“In the wake of Silicon Valley Bank’s demise, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pointed fingers at several culprits, including the company’s diversity initiatives and federal regulators who he said ‘always seem to whiff’ at preventing a financial crisis.”
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“But left out of DeSantis’ comments was his own record on banking regulations. As a member of Congress, DeSantis was an outspoken champion for lifting regulation on small and mid-sized financial institutions, and in 2018 he voted for a bill that eventually became law loosening oversight of mid-size banks like Silicon Valley Bank.”
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“The 2018 legislation, which then-President Donald Trump signed into law, is under renewed scrutiny amid the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, the lender to startups whose recent collapse has rocked the venture capital world and sent chills through the country’s financial system. The law, which passed with bipartisan support, rolled back regulations known as the Dodd-Frank Act passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, including some for smaller and medium-sized institutions.”
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“Among the 75-page law’s many provisions was a measure backed by regional banks that raised the asset threshold for tougher supervision by federal banking regulators from $50 billion to $250 billion. That would have affected Silicon Valley Bank, which had $209 billion in total assets at the end of 2022, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.”
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“The 2018 vote is the latest example of how DeSantis’ congressional record is rife with potential headaches for the Florida Republican as he considers launching a campaign for president. CNN’s KFile previously reported that DeSantis has called for the privatization of Medicare and Social Security, a position that both Trump and Democrats have seized on and DeSantis has since backed away from. DeSantis also once supported a hawkish approach to arming Ukraine and confronting Russia, but has lately echoed Trump in statements critical of US involvement in the overseas conflict.”
Read the full report here.
Published: Mar 16, 2023