US president Joe Biden is calling on Congress to make it easier for regulators to punish executives at failed banks, including by clawing back profits from share sales and banning them from working in the banking industry.

Biden said he was “firmly committed to accountability for those responsible for this mess,” in a statement released on Friday, one week after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

“No one is above the law — and strengthening accountability is an important deterrent to prevent mismanagement in the future,” the president added.

Biden said: “When banks fail due to mismanagement and excessive risk taking, it should be easier for regulators to claw back compensation from executives, to impose civil penalties, and to ban executives from working in the banking industry again.”