'Big Short' investor Steve Eisman says today's bank turmoil is nowhere close to a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis

Today's banking turmoil isn't close to the 2008 financial crisis, Steve Eisman told CNBC.
Current problems are more confined to regional lenders that resemble Silicon Valley Bank, he added.
"When JPMorgan goes down, Planet Earth burns. When First Republic, if it were to go down, it's a problem."

The banking panic that has spawned headlines for the past few weeks is no return to the 2008 financial crisis, Steve Eisman told CNBC on Monday.

Rather, it's a problem confined to a handful of regional lenders of a similar type to Silicon Valley Bank, he added.

Portrayed in "The Big Short" for his global financial crisis predictions, the Neuberger Berman senior portfolio manager said the current turmoil is manageable, and does not pose a systemic risk.

"Back then, you were dealing with the largest banks in the country and, had they failed, the economy would have crashed." he said. "This is a situation that is really confined to a bunch of regional banks who have very concentrated deposit relationships that are mostly above the $250,000 limit, and they made some very bad bets."

He added: "Put this way — when JPMorgan goes down, Planet Earth burns. When First Republic, if it were to go down, it's a problem, but it's a handle-able problem."

Asked why banks are now under renewed pressure despite tougher post-2008 regulations, Eisman pointed to the 2018 easing of some Dodd-Frank Act requirements on smaller lenders.

But he also cited the 2017 resignation of top Federal Reserve regulation official Daniel Tarullo as an important factor.

His comments preceded remarks on Tuesday from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who said the crisis of depositors leaving small and mid-sized US banks is "stabilizing," and should the problem worsen, the government could provide further support.

"Our intervention was necessary to protect the broader U.S. banking system," she said in remarks for the American Bankers Association's meeting in Washington. "And similar actions could be warranted if smaller institutions suffer deposit runs that pose the risk of contagion."

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