top of page
Writer's pictureGodman Usman

MARKET MONDAYS: Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), Silvergate Bank & FTX 📈

FINANCIAL EDUCATION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 👨‍🎓👩‍🎓

 

Here's what happened

  • Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), was the darling bank for tech start-ups and as of 2021 had $190 billion in customer deposits.

  • Well over 50% of Venture Capital (VC) funded tech start-ups banked with SVB.

  • But last year, SVB bought $80 billion in Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBSs), which initially attracted investors, until the Federal Reserve in the US (the equivalent to the Bank of England) increased its own rate of return on government bonds.

  • Which ultimately offered a higher rate of return than SVB's rates plus lower risks (as US government bonds are historically considered 'risk-free').

  • It was a no-brainer, investors voted with their deposits and started transferring cash from SVB to government bonds.

  • Consequently, SVB's market value fell - fast!💸

  • To stop the crash, the bank decided to raise cash by selling more of its MBSs portfolio and selling its once coveted shares.

Enter - Silvergate Bank

  • One of the main investors to buy those shares was Silvergate Bank. An institution well known for its appetite for big bets on crypto.

  • For background, Silvergate was one of the most important banks in crypto and its biggest client at the time was FTX (remember them?)

  • FTX crashed suddenly earlier this year, causing customers to pull $8 billion from Silvergate, resulting, sadly, in its unceremonious collapse last week Wednesday (8th March) - coincidently the very same day SVB announced its new lifeline investment from Silvergate.

SVB alarm bells 👇

1. The news sent start-ups into a panic

2. Resulting in customers scrambling end of last week to save their cash from SVB.

3. The rush to pull cash out sent SVB's market value into a $80 billion tailspin overnight

Takeaway 👇

Perception is everything, especially in the current financial climate we're in. SVB customers perceived Silvergate's collapse to be related to SVB's press release announcing a fresh cash injection.


Powered by the GenMoney team

#SVB #bankrun #banks #financialinclusion #financialwellbeing #financialeducation

Keep in touch with us and subscribe to our weekly newsletter 👇


11 views0 comments

Comentarios


Post: Blog2_Post
bottom of page