Home Depot Co-Founder Urges Americans To 'Wake Up' Following SVB Collapse, Says Recession May Be Here Already

Bernie Marcus, co-founder of Home Depot HD, said Americans need to "wake up" to the reality that the U.S. economy is in tough times following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, which was a subsidiary of SVB Financial Group SIVB.

Speaking during an interview on Fox News on Saturday, Marcus attributed the fall of SVB to President Joe Biden's administration and its persistent push for banks to prioritize "global warming" over shareholder returns.  

"I think that the system, that the administration has pushed many of these banks into [being] more concerned about global warming than they do about shareholder return. And these banks are badly run because everybody is focused on diversity and all of the woke issues and not concentrating on the one thing they should, which is shareholder returns," he said.

"I can't wait for Biden to get on the speech again and talk about how great the economy is and how it's moving forward and getting stronger by the day. And this is an indication that whatever he says is not true. And maybe the American people will finally wake up and understand that we're living in very tough times, that, in fact, that a recession may have already started," he added. 

On Friday, SVB was closed by the California Department of Financial Protection, after it struggled to raise additional capital and concerns of cash burn and liquidity sent bank shares down significantly. The FDIC took control of the bank via a new entity called the Deposit Insurance National Bank of Santa Clara.

Read Also: SVB Financial CEO Sold $3.6M In Shares Prior To Bank's Collapse: Here Are Other Insider Sellers

"Somebody with a sane head has to come in and understand that you can't do two things. Number one, you can't keep raising rates. You can't keep inflation as strong as it is. And you can't tax people more than they are," Marcus continued. "Biden's proposal to tax the middle class and the rich is about as dumb as I've heard it a long time. In a recession like this, you don't do things like that."

"I feel bad for all of these people that lost all their money in this woke bank. You know, it was more distressing to hear that the bank officials sold off their stock before this happened. It's depressing to me. Who knows whether the Justice Department would go after them? And they'll probably get away with it," he added. 

Now Read: EXCLUSIVE: No, Silicon Valley Bank Collapsing Doesn't Mean The Sky Is Falling: Here's Why

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