Y Combinator launches petition to compensate Silicon Valley Bank's small business depositors and restore congressional oversight of regional banks

Garry Tan, CEO and President of Y Combinator, a well-known American startup incubator, issued an urgent petition to U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Martin J. Gruenberg, and Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee Patrick Timothy McHenry, requesting relief and attention The immediate and significant impact of the Silicon Valley Bank failure on small businesses, startups and their employees as bank day. According to the petition, one-third of startups in the Y Combinator community who had access to SVB had SVB as their only bank account and were unable to get cash for payroll for the next 30 days. By that measure, more than 10,000 small businesses and startups would be affected, and it would result in more than 100,000 layoffs. In response, the petition makes the following request: "Silicon Valley Bank's small business depositors should be compensated. Regulators need to support depositors, and we're not asking for a bank bailout. In the long run, Congress should work to restore more support to regional banks." Strong regulatory oversight and capital requirements, and an investigation into the malfeasance or mismanagement of the executives responsible for the SVB incident."