SVB is by no means alone. Many institutions are going to book big losses on their bonds as interest rates and bond prices fall. From Chris MacIntosh at internationalman.com:
You have probably heard it by now but Silicon Valley Bank went tits up, making it the second largest bank failure in America’s history. I know what it was. The “climate changed,” specifically bonds, which we’ll come to in a minute.
For a moment, it looked like anyone with over $250,000 in the bank would lose their money. Apparently more than 90% of deposits at SVB exceeded this figure. That was the situation until the Fed came in and bailed everyone out over the weekend.
A timely reminder that money in the bank is NOT YOURS.
You are an unsecured creditor in what may very well be an insolvent institution. Some countries don’t even have deposit insurance, and every penny can be taken.
Meanwhile, here’s a live shot of me surveying my gold hoard (very little in banks):
In all seriousness, the issue here for SVB is actually with bonds.
STRAIGHT LINE LOGIC 