“A systemic risk exception” will allow Silicon Valley Bank clients to get their money on Monday, said the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve and the Federal Insurance Deposit Corp. in a joint statement.
How Did This Happen?
As we know, the Signature Bank was closed by New York state financial regulators on Sunday.
This was due to the fallout from last week’s implosion of SVB Financial Group’s Silicon Valley Bank spreads to other lenders.
The regulator said, “All depositors of this institution will be made whole. As with the resolution of Silicon Valley Bank, no losses will be borne by the taxpayer.”
Further sources said, the decision to put Signature into receivership came as a surprise to its managers, who found out shortly before the public announcement.
It seems that the bank faced a torrent of deposit outflows on Friday.
Although the situation had stabilized by Sunday, according to the sources.
So far, a Signature Bank representative declined to comment.
The New York Department of Financial Services said, Signature Bank, a New York state-chartered commercial bank that’s FDIC-insured, had total assets of about $110.36 billion and total deposits of roughly $88.59 billion as of December 31, in a separate statement.
It seems that the Silicon Valley Bank abruptly became the biggest US lender to fail in more than a decade on Friday unraveling in less than 48 hours after outlining a plan to shore up capital.
Amid rising interest rates, the bank took a huge loss on sales of its securities thus spooking investors and depositors who rapidly began pulling their money.
As a result, the investors and depositors tried to yank about $42 billion on Thursday alone.
Now, US regulators are racing against the clock to find solutions for the failed Silicon Valley Bank.
They also aim to stop a potential contagion from spreading to other lenders.
Protecting Depositors Interest
In order to protect the depositors interest, the Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen approved a resolution for Silicon Valley Bank “that fully protects all depositors.”
There are concerns about the health of other smaller banks which are focused on venture capital.
The startup communities are prompting regulators to consider extraordinary measures to protect financial institutions and their depositors.
In her agency’s statement, Superintendent Adrienne A. Harris said, New York’s Department of Financial Services is in “close contact with all regulated entities in light of market events, monitoring market trends and collaborating closely with other state and federal regulators to protect consumers, ensure the health of the entities we regulate and preserve the stability of the global financial system,”.
Prior to this, the Signature Bank came into the spotlight with the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange late last year.
