NEW YORK, March 24 — US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sought to reassure jittery investors that American bank deposits were safe and promised policymakers had more firepower to battle any crisis even as bank stocks resumed their slide yesterday.
“As I have said, we have used important tools to act quickly to prevent contagion. And they are tools we could use again,” Yellen said in prepared remarks to the US House of Representatives Appropriations subcommittee hearing. US banking shares initially rose yesterday with traders citing the Fed’s hints that it could soon pause further increases in borrowing costs as a source of some relief, but later turned negative.
Truist Securities cut its price targets on regional banks including Zions and Comerica, warning of slower growth and higher credit costs.