Friday, March 10, 2023

Whoopsie! Silicon Valley Bank Going Under?

That's the name of the bank:  Silicon Valley Bank, or "SVB".

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman says the US government should consider a "highly dilutive" bailout of Silicon Valley Bank amid jitters about its financial position.

The bank's failure "could destroy an important long-term driver of the economy as VC-backed companies rely on SVB for loans and holding their operating cash," Ackman said in a series of tweets on Thursday. "If private capital can't provide a solution, a highly dilutive gov't preferred bailout should be considered," he said....

This bank apparently made a whole lot of crappy loans.  The US already has a 'bailout' mechanism, called the FDIC.  When FDIC gets in, deposits up to $100K250K are protected and the subject bank is liquidated, shareholders are usually zeroed out, and the management 'retires.'

If Ackman thinks the SVB needs more than that, he should write a check.

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