The Federal Reserve has announced that banks in need of cash have borrowed around $300 billion from the central bank in the past week. This includes $143 billion borrowed by the holding companies of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, which failed over the weekend. The funds were used to pay off uninsured depositors, with the FDIC guaranteeing repayment. The remaining funds were borrowed by banks seeking to raise cash to pay off depositors who were withdrawing their money. The Fed also lent an additional $11.9 billion through a new lending facility announced on Sunday. This is roughly half of the assistance provided during the financial crisis 15 years ago.