U.S. monitoring developments at First Republic, other regional banks -White House

WASHINGTON, March 14 (Reuters) - The White House is carefully monitoring developments at First Republic and other smaller banks after Sunday's actions to protect depositors following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank last week, a senior White House official said on Tuesday.

Asked if there was still a danger of runs on other banks, the official said the U.S. banking system was in "a vastly better position right now" than if the actions had not been taken, and depositors should have confidence their funds would be protected.

The White House is also keeping close watch on any outflows of money to larger banks, and remains committed to ensuring robust competition in the banking sector, the official said.