Beyond Woke Banks Goes Broke

By Theodore R. Malloch
March 14, 2023

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There are many reasons why certain American banks like Silicon Valley Bank, (SVB), the 16^Th The largest companies in the country have either gone out of business or will soon. SVB suffered a loss of $209 billion in assets, and was destroyed in a rapid collapse lasting 48 hours. This was the second-largest US financial crisis in American history.

Biden government covers up the reasons for failure in the biased press. This is to try to keep the real causes from spreading to the rest of the financial system.  SVB and other banks succumb to bad policy, poor investment management, and wokeness and ESG as their top priorities.

Santa Clara, CA-based SVB, the bank that provides venture capital and started-ups with technology, was known for its unique banking model. It was known for funding high-risk venture deals and tech millionaires lifestyles. Hedge funds were also funded. This model was successful for a time, but then the Federal Reserve’s economic policies of Biden and his own policies surpassed it. In just a few hours, Biden had invested $6 trillion in the US economy, causing inflation to reach a 40-year high. Now, the Federal Reserve is determined to continue the madness with its laundry list of more spending, higher taxes, socialist woke regulation, and even more spending. It’s the latest. “make believe” Budget would place the US debt at more than $50 trillion over the next ten year and cause interest rates to spiral out of control.

The California company’s tipping point came last Wednesday, when SVB announced it had sold $21 billion worth of its securities at a roughly $1.8 billion loss and said it needed to raise another $2.25 billion to meet clients’ withdrawal needs and fund new lending. The news sent SVB stock prices plummeting, and triggered panic-inducing withdrawals from VCs as well as other depositors. SVB stock plunged 60% within a matter of days, resulting in a loss totaling $1.5 million. Bank shares worth more than $80 trillion, globally. Signature Bank of New York collapsed on Sunday. Other panic-prone banks were also in chaos, with depositors moving to larger money centers and cash redemptions. “too big to fail.”

SVB found itself in the crosshairs of the Biden economic, fuelled by wakefulness and rising interest rates. These are six reasons why this bank, as well as others with similar models could be in trouble.

Fed Interest Rates

The Fed raises rates in order to reduce inflation and return it to the preferred 2 percent rate. Until something breaks. Before SVB, everything was fine. We now see a sharp selloff in banking stocks. The SVB crisis may even stop the Feds from tightening their belts. Are they able to raise rates even higher? Investors are having a wider discussion about the prospects for regional banks after the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. That, in turn, could lead to a pullback in lending from firms that face pressure to raise deposit rates as the Fed has cranked interest rates higher to fight inflation. The truth is, the Fed did far too much, too quickly, too late, and it is still wrong.

Poor Management

“People are just shocked at how stupid the CEO is” According to one Silicon Valley Bank insider. “You’re in business for 40 years and you are telling me you can’t raise $2 billion privately? Get on a jet and fly to Kuwait like everyone else and give them control of one-third of the bank.” SVB Bank was a bank with a very flawed business model, a dumb CEO, team and people around him, wakingness galore and a board that didn’t know what they were doing or how to control it. They were ahead of their diversity requirements, with 90% of the board being independent, approximately half of them women, one black and one LGBTQ member. However, only one of their directors had any banking experience. SVB went eight months without a chief risk officers and their chief administrator was the CFO of Lehman Brothers, before it collapsed in 2008

Priorities for Woke

SVB has redesigned its website. However, it still focuses on diversity, equity, and inclusion. The company also spends a lot of time and money spreading leftist propaganda. It was an active participant in ESG investing, and it held training sessions on a variety of trendy woke topics. SVB was a fan of everything green, lefty, and so-called climate changes. Some have argued that the DIE and ESG casting took the banks’ mind off its core business—which was supposed to be banking.

Failing to assess risk

SVB’s most frequent customers were venture capital-backed tech startups. These companies grew rapidly during this pandemic. SVB kept a large cash reserve. These players burned through their cash when interest rates rose and the economy slowed, which led to a decline in bank deposits. The bank did nothing to adjust or adapt its investments or lending policies. It was in a mismatch. Its treasury securities held did not have a consistent duration during a time of rapid interest rate increases. The portfolio duration, a measure of risk, moved to six years from about four years during 2022. SVB compounded this problem by relying heavily on institutional deposits. The vast majority of its deposit base consisted of accounts worth well over $250,000, which is the limit for FDIC coverage. This made it vulnerable to a ran.

Unethical and selfish leadership

SVB employees Received their annual bonuses According to sources with knowledge of the payments, regulators took over the bank hours before. And Greg Becker, the bank’s CEO sold $3.6 Million in shares According to regulatory filings it took less than two weeks for SVB to reveal the enormous losses that caused its collapse. Insider trades also show that the CFO, CMO and CMO sold shares. What did these executives or others expect? What was the beginning of insider selling? This money should be recovered from the bank. Bank depositors have sued the bank already and there will be many more. As I explained in my book The End of Ethics The 2008 financial catastrophe revealed that this company had lost its moral compass. They acted to enrich their top executives and not shareholders.

Fondness for Democrats and Favor Seeking

SVB and its employees have historically contributed large amounts to the Democrat Party as well as to the Biden campaign. 97% of all money was given to Democrats. They sought favor with California’s Governor and left-leaning politicians. SVB lobbyists lobbied in Washington, DC, and with regulators, who seemed to be asleep on the job, for them loopholes or special arrangements. The lobbying groups of Silicon Valley Bank fought against a proposal that required financial institutions to make higher deposits into the Deposit Insurance Fund, which protects depositors against bank failures. This was months before the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. SVB argued that there was little risk of bank failures and that banks would not be required to contribute more money to the fund. They were known for their ability to skirt banking regulations and play it loose.

Silicon Valley Bank was unable to survive after six failed attempts.

HSBC now owns the UK bank arm of Silicon Valley Bank. It has secured the deposits of thousands British tech firms that have money with the lender. SVB UK, which was a subsidiary of the bank’s parent company in the United States, would have been put into liquidation by the Bank of England if no buyer had been found. HSBC Holdings plc announced that its UK ring-fenced subsidiary, HSBC UK Bank plc, is acquiring Silicon Valley Bank UK Limited (SVB UK) for £1. SVB UK had loans of around £5.5bn and deposits of around £6.7bn. It is rumored that SVB in the US did not draw any buyers in a late hour auction after PNC and RBC dropped out of the running  and that Goldman Sachs will buy some of its assets at next to nothing.

Highflyer to bankruptcy, all at record speed. Instabilities are a result of a financial system in which credit market institutions borrow little and lend much. Bank runs are a constant risk as long depositors think they have enough money to cover their needs. However, the truth is that they are often tied up in long-term bonds and mortgages. They lose sight of the real purpose of their work if they become a specialist in wakefulness.

If you are in trouble, “Big Government” Protective Services will always be available to assist “Big Business” They will print a lot of money to cover their mistakes. The taxpayer won’t have to pay a penny.

Ted Roosevelt Malloch, CEO of Roosevelt Global Fiduciary LLC is Ted Roosevelt Malloch. He was a Research Professor for Spiritual Capital Initiative at Yale University and a Senior Fellow Said Business School, Oxford University. He also served as Professor of Governance and Leadership at Henley Business School. He co-led Director’s Forum.  His most recent books concern the nature of virtuous enterprise, the practices of practical wisdom and “virtuous business,” The pursuit of happiness, generosity and thrift are virtues.  Common Sense Business is his latest book. He co-authored it with Whitney MacMillan. Whitney MacMillan was the former Chairman and CEO at Cargill, which is the largest privately owned company in the world. He has served on the executive board of the World Economic Forum (DAVOS); has held an ambassadorial level position at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland; worked in the US State Department and Senate; did capital markets at Salomon Brothers on Wall Street, and has sat on a number of corporate, mutual fund, and not-for-profit boards. He was very involved in the Trump campaign of 2016. Ted earned his Ph.D. in international political economy from the University of Toronto and took his B.A. Gordon College, and an M.Litt. The University of Aberdeen has a St. Andrews Fellowship.  

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