Two U.S. banks failed in March 2023. AP U.S. Treasury reporter Fatima Hussein shares her tips on covering the 2023 global banking crisis.
On March 10, 2023, Silicon Valley Bank failed after a bank run, marking the second-largest bank failure in United States history and the largest since the 2007–2008 financial crisis. It was one of two bank failures in the United States in March while some other banks faced crises. Fatima Hussein, who covers the U.S. Treasury Dept. for the Associated Press, briefed Paul Miller fellows on her tips for covering bank failures.[Transcript | Video]
4 takeaways:
➀ Know your sources, or ask your colleagues for help.
Hussein said her typical coverage area is sanctions. So, when the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank happened, she first thought about what agencies are involved with any oversight of Silicon Valley Bank, First Republic and Signature Bank. Hussein suggests knowing the policymakers behind the following: The U.S. Treasury, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
“So covering the agencies will be really insightful because the lawmakers oftentimes or sometimes won’t really want to talk to you,” she said. “So it’s helpful to go through the agency route and every so often, especially with smaller agencies that you don’t necessarily think of first in a banking crisis, they might have press people who are willing to give you something as opposed to a lawmaker or somebody who would be just so tightlipped about it that you just don’t understand what’s happening.”
“There’s no way you could possibly cover a bank failure or series of bank failures alone,” she said. Rely on your colleagues who have been doing this longer than you and might have helpful sources. “Also, if you ask your editor, most of your editors have covered the 2008…
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