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6 months out from SVB's failure, a bank president's optimism has waned

Sep 6, 2023
Pressure to keep more capital puts constraints on banks, says Laurie Stewart of Sound Community in Seattle.
Laurie Stewart, the head of Sound Community Bank in Seattle, says pressures to hold more capital will "impact our ability to serve clients and to be investable."
Courtesy Sound Community Bank

Startups pitch banks as alternative to VCs

As venture capital becomes scarce, demand is rising for venture debt — the kind of loan Silicon Valley Bank provided before it collapsed.
Venture debt is a specialized bank loan that doesn’t involve an ownership stake. Silicon Valley Bank was a leader in the field.
Ong-ad Nuseewor via Getty Images

No more business as usual for the Fed

Jun 29, 2023
Technology that can cause banks to fail overnight could force the Federal Reserve to upgrade its infrastructure, while continuing basic regulation to prevent failures from occurring in the first place.
Silicon Valley Bank's problems wouldn’t have been solved by an instant Fed bailout, said Wharton professor Itamar Drechsler.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Why 2008 financial crisis regulations didn't prevent the recent bank failures

May 3, 2023
Three major bank failures in two months. What happened to all those regulations?
"SVB was among the large regional banks that really should have been engaging in stress testing and wasn’t," said Columbia Law professor Kathryn Judge.
Noah Berger/AFP via Getty Images

FHLB: The banking backstop you've never heard of

Apr 18, 2023
The Federal Home Loan Bank system was created during the Great Depression to boost mortgage lending and absorb shocks for banks under stress.
The Federal Home Loan Bank System came out of the Great Depression in an effort to act as a shock absorber for banks under stress.
OFF/AFP via Getty Images

The history of “too big to fail”

Apr 13, 2023
In the wake of the Silicon Valley Bank debacle, the 1984 failure of Continental Illinois remains relevant.
The head offices of Bear Stearns, left, and JPMorgan Chase in New York in March 2008. After Bear went bust, JPM acquired its remains for a small sum.
Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images

Why we're paying extra attention to senior loan officers right now

Apr 11, 2023
The recent banking turmoil could further tighten credit conditions and slow down the economy.
Kent Belasco of Marquette University believes the recent bank failures are isolated, but "it does have an impact on the banking industry as a whole."
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

So how are consumers feeling about the economy post-SVB?

Mar 30, 2023
It may be hard to tell from some data out Friday, which is for February. But we may still get a read on whether consumer sentiment is changing.
February consumer spending numbers will show whether January's spending numbers were an anamoly.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Who are bank examiners, and what do they do?

Mar 24, 2023
Examiners are the government employees who monitor a bank’s safety and soundness. What happened in the case of Silicon Valley Bank?
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Smaller banks keep a close watch over their liquidity

Mar 20, 2023
One concern: People will put their money in a bigger bank. But there's a good reason to leave it in smaller institution, one banker says.
If more people get anxious about the banking system, they may start withdrawing their money, said University of Alabama law professor Julie Hill.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

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