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Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers says Silicon Valley Bank borrowed money in the short term and invested in long-term bonds, a colossal error that led to its downfall
Silicon Valley Bank, the nation's 16th-largest bank, failed because its managers made a textbook mistake, according to former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.
Summers, a Harvard University professor who served in both the Clinton and Obama administrations, said Monday the bank "committed one of the most elementary errors in banking: borrowing money in the short term and investing in the long term."
SVB collapsed Friday after depositors ran on the bank, which didn't have cash on hand to cover their withdrawals. It was the second-biggest bank failure in U.S. history and the largest since Washington Mutual went under in 2008.
What happened is fairly simple: when interest rates were at historic lows, SVB invested depositors' funds in long-term Treasury bonds. But as the Federal Reserve increased interest rates to combat inflation, the price of those bonds cratered, taking SVB with it.
"When interest rates went up, the assets lost their value and put the institution in a problematic situation," Summers explained on Twitter.
On Wednesday, SVB suffered a $1.8 billion after-tax loss and attempted to address its liquidity crisis by selling equity. The move backfired – in just 24 hours, SVB lost over $160 billion in value and spooked depositors, who rushed to withdraw their money before the situation got worse.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets...-elementary-errors-banking-larry-summers-says
Silicon Valley Bank, the nation's 16th-largest bank, failed because its managers made a textbook mistake, according to former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.
Summers, a Harvard University professor who served in both the Clinton and Obama administrations, said Monday the bank "committed one of the most elementary errors in banking: borrowing money in the short term and investing in the long term."
SVB collapsed Friday after depositors ran on the bank, which didn't have cash on hand to cover their withdrawals. It was the second-biggest bank failure in U.S. history and the largest since Washington Mutual went under in 2008.
What happened is fairly simple: when interest rates were at historic lows, SVB invested depositors' funds in long-term Treasury bonds. But as the Federal Reserve increased interest rates to combat inflation, the price of those bonds cratered, taking SVB with it.
"When interest rates went up, the assets lost their value and put the institution in a problematic situation," Summers explained on Twitter.
On Wednesday, SVB suffered a $1.8 billion after-tax loss and attempted to address its liquidity crisis by selling equity. The move backfired – in just 24 hours, SVB lost over $160 billion in value and spooked depositors, who rushed to withdraw their money before the situation got worse.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets...-elementary-errors-banking-larry-summers-says
