Silicon Valley Bank Closed by Regulators After Bank Run

Regulators shut down tech lender Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) on Friday after a bank run. 

Government Response: The FDIC said it was taking control of SVB’s deposits and that insured depositors would have access to their deposits no later than Monday morning. Some called for a government bailout of SVB, drawing comparisons to the 2008 financial crisis. 

Timeline: On Wednesday, SVB said it sought over $2 million in capital after selling assets at a $1.8 billion loss to make up for an unexpected decline in deposits. Unable to raise funds, SVB sought a buyer but was unsuccessful. SVB’s stock price dropped 60% on Thursday, triggering a selloff that led the nation’s four largest banks — JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America — to lose $52 billion in market value. On Friday, trades of the SVB’s stock were halted after the share price plummeted another 68% in pre-market trading.

How the Media Covered It: Coverage was widespread and prominently featured across the spectrum, but Center and Lean Left outlets were generally quicker to publish coverage on Friday. Some headlines portrayed the situation as especially dire; New York Post’s (Lean Right bias) headline featured the quote, “We found our Enron,” and CNBC (Center bias) called it the “biggest bank failure” since the 2008 crisis.