Silicon Valley Bank compelled to close down by regulators, days after Forbes hailed it as among the finest banks in America

Despite being hailed as certainly one of ‘America’s Best Banks’ by Forbes journal a few month in the past, the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was compelled to close store on Friday (March 10).

In an article (archive) dated February 16, 2023, the American enterprise journal launched its 14th annual checklist of the 100 finest banks within the nation. Forbes reportedly factored in key-performing metrics corresponding to development, profitability, non-performing belongings (NPAs) and credit score high quality to make the evaluation.

The SVB Financial Group (guardian firm of Silicon Valley Bank) was positioned at twentieth place within the checklist of ‘America’s Best Banks.’

Screengrab of the tweet by SVB Financial Group

In a tweet on March 7, the SVB Financial Group acknowledged the Forbes journal’s recognition of its monetary well being. “Proud to be on Forbes’ annual ranking of America’s Best Banks for the 5th straight year and to have also been named to the publication’s inaugural Financial All-Stars list,” it had mentioned.

The archive of the tweet might be accessed right here. And simply 3 days later, the financial institution was compelled to shut down by regulators after being in operation for the previous 40 years.

The Background of the Controversy

On Friday (March 10), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) introduced the shutdown of the US-based Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and the seizure of its belongings.

The growth was the results of the sudden shutdown of Silvergate Capital Corp and the unmindful fundraising of SVB, which created panic within the know-how business.

FDIC: “Silicon Valley Bank, Santa Clara, California, was closed today by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver.” pic.twitter.com/trqGu83CUB

— Steve Lookner (@lookner) March 10, 2023

Founded in 1983, Silicon Valley Bank operated out of Santa Clara in California, and offered numerous companies corresponding to on-line banking, treasury administration, and overseas alternate commerce.

Reportedly, the disaster got here to mild on March 8 this yr after SVB Financial Group (guardian organisation of Silicon Valley Bank) introduced a sale of $21 billion of its securities.

This was additional worsened by the sale of firm shares price $2.25 billion to shore up its funds, prompted by excessive deposit outflows on the financial institution, brought on by a downturn within the startup business. As a end result, the Silicon Valley Bank shares fell 60%, resulting in a whopping lack of $80 billion.

➡️On Thursday, March 9

CEO Greg Becker urged calm throughout a zoom name with enterprise corporations.

📉But shares of SVB nonetheless crashed by roughly 60% in common buying and selling. https://t.co/CRYGieAMCE pic.twitter.com/r4yyAoXN5K

— FORTUNE (@FortuneMagazine) March 10, 2023

To salvage the enterprise, SVB CEO Greg Becker held a convention name with purchasers and enterprise capital buyers, requesting them to “stay calm” to keep away from additional withdrawals.

However, it was to no avail. Many enterprise capitalists as a substitute instructed portfolio corporations to minimise their publicity to Silicon Valley Bank, withdraw their money, and search for different lenders (thus additional exacerbating the disaster).