Silicon Valley Bank imploded in a single day. It could just be the tip of the iceberg.
The market on Friday watched as regulators shut the doors of Silicon Valley Bank, capping off a speedy decline and marking the biggest bank failure since 2008.
The bank's collapse was a byproduct of the Federal Reserve's hiking of interest rates by 1,700% in less than a year. Once risk-free Treasuries started generating more attractive returns than what SVB was offering, people started withdrawing, and the firm was forced to sell its loan portfolio at a huge loss. Even more people fled, and regulators were forced to shut it down.
The chaotic episode showed that the Fed's aggressive interest rate hiking regime could upend institutions and markets that were once thought to be relatively stable. It appears that any rate sensitivity is about to be laid bare, and past risk-taking behavior held accountable.
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