Avoiding the ‘B-word’: is the US response to SVB’s collapse a bailout?

Given the antipathy towards Wall Street bailouts in the 2008 crisis, Biden is at pains to stress that ‘no losses’ will be borne by taxpayers

When is a bailout not a bailout? It’s a question many people are asking after the dramatic collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the US’s decision to rescue depositors on Sunday.

Joe Biden, elected and appointed officials all insist the emergency interventions to protect deposits in Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, a second bank that failed on the weekend, or, indeed, any further bank failures, won’t come at taxpayers’ expense.