On March 24, the Treasury Department’s Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) held an unscheduled, closed meeting via video conference, convened by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. The heads of all major US financial regulatory agencies attended the meeting. According to a statement by the Treasury Department, Federal Reserve Bank of New York staff presented market developments, which were reassuring. The presentation concluded that while some institutions have come under stress, the US banking system remains sound and resilient. The FSOC also discussed member agencies’ efforts to monitor financial developments.
The FSOC has the functions of identifying risks to the financial stability of the US, promoting market discipline, and responding to emerging threats to the stability of the US financial system under the law. The meeting was closed, and details were sparse in the Treasury statement.
Following the meeting, House Financial Services Committee Subcommittee Chairs Andy Barr and Bill Huizenga sent a letter to Yellen requesting the unredacted minutes of the March 12 FSOC meeting and a special March 10 meeting with council “leaders” to discuss the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and other information. They criticized the FSOC’s transparency and accused the council of blurring the distinction between Yellen’s role as Chairperson of the FSOC and Secretary of the Treasury by failing to maintain its own website or issue its own press releases.
