Yellen: Guaranteeing all of a bank's deposits requires 'systemic risk' determination

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday said a determination of "systemic risk" by regulators is needed before all of a bank's deposits will be guaranteed, even those exceeding deposit insurance limits.

Asked by Republican Senator James Lankford if all U.S. deposits should be considered insured in the wake of the guarantee regulators just made for all deposits at both Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, Yellen said: "A bank only gets that treatment if a majority of the FDIC board, a supermajority of the Fed board, and I in consultation with the president, determine that the failure to protect uninsured depositors would create systemic risk and significant economic and financial consequences."

(Reporting By Dan Burns, David Lawder and Doina Chiacu, Editing by Franklin Paul)