What are the implications of the rapid demise of Silicon Valley Bank? That is arguably now the most important question in global finance. What can financial history tell us about what may happen next?
First, Silicon Valley Bank was an outlier in many dimensions. Deposits had tripled since the fourth quarter of 2019 to $189bn at the end of 2021. That compared with an industry growth of 37 per cent over the same period, according to Autonomous Research.
SVB also had an unusually high reliance on corporate and VC funding. Around 95 per cent of its deposits were uninsured at the end of last year compared with one-third at a sample of major US banks. The run is reminiscent of the hedge funds who fled their prime brokers in 2008.