PHOENIX — Arizona Representative Ruben Gallego is weighing in on the startling collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.
He says certain politicians voted in 2018 to deregulate the market and now is the time to fix that. He says we should be on the side of the everyday taxpayer.
"I basically received a ton of correspondence saying what was happening, that it definitely seemed to disrupt a lot of people," said Alex Kline, a production company owner.
Kline, a Valley native, uses Hollywood firm Wrapbook to process his production company's payroll. The firm is one of many impacted by the Silicon Valley Bank collapse last week, causing a delay in service.
"We kind of pay people on a project base, as we get done with them. We were just perfectly in between projects right now so yea, luckily, I didn't have anyone that needed to be paid that day but, it would have not been great if I did," said Kline.
SVB is the 16th largest bank in the nation and has had a huge presence in the Valley since 2012.
It has a corporate office in Tempe, with upwards of about 700 employees. A rush of investor withdraws led to the bank collapse on Friday.
Rep. Gallego, (D-AZ) 3rd Congressional District, spoke with ABC15 about the ripple effects and said, "We do have to worry about these 700 workers and also, all the other kind of companies that have been relying on this company for a lot of their banking services."
At one point, the former mayor of Tempe said SVB's investment would bring financial opportunities and assistance to local businesses.
So, what does this fallout mean now?
"The way that doesn't occur is to make sure that we actually put in regulations. So, banks, you know, focus on the account holder, on the everyday Arizonan in this, you know, who has like a just a checking account and savings account, and not on the Wall Street bankers, and, you know, shareholders that want to maximize profits," said Rep. Gallego.
On Monday, President Joe Biden told Americans they can have confidence the banking system is safe. He praised his administration for their work over the past few days.
"Your deposits will be there when you need them. Small businesses across the country that deposit accounts at these banks can breathe easier knowing they'll be able to pay their workers and pay their bills," said President Biden.
Biden also vowed to ask Congress and banking regulators to strengthen the rules for banks to make it less likely this type of failure will happen again.
