Brainard: Biden Looking Forward To Negotiations Over The Budget

Director of the White House National Economic Council Lael Brainard, speaking at the Semafor World Economy Summit, has provided an update on the White House view on the Silicon Valley Bank collapse and debt ceiling negotiations.

• Brainard: "Congress has to find a way to raise the federal debt ceiling... President Biden is looking forward to having a negotiation over the budget."
• Note: Congress is due to return from recess on April 17 and there have been few signs that a GOP budget will be released imminently. Any negotiations on the debt ceiling are unlikely before a GOP budget is released.
• Brainard on the banking system: "The US banking system is stable, sound and well capitalized."
• "Community banks should be exempted from assessments for losses to FDIC insurance fund after SVB, signature failures."
• "Banks need to show investors they have a good strategy and are managing risks effectively... Bank stress tests for interest rate increases could have made a material difference in SVB case."
• "We are seeing inflation coming down, but we still have more work to do... Banks are showing some signs of pulling back on credit, that could help do the fed's job on inflation."