How Silicon Valley Bank Failed, And What Comes Next

The Biden administration took extraordinary measures to protect the accounts of customers at two banks that failed over the past few days: Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.

Federal regulators said Sunday that they were taking the emergency measures to prevent contagion at other small and regional banks in the wake of Silicon Valley Bank's implosion.

NPR's David Gura reports that, despite those measures, many bank stocks plunged on Monday.

And former Congressman Barney Frank, a Democrat who sponsored new banking regulations in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, explains what he thinks went wrong at the banks. Frank more recently also served on the board of Signature Bank.

In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Connor Donevan. It was edited by Christopher Intagliata, Rafael Nam, Sarah Handel and William Troop. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.