The collapse of two US banks raises the stakes for the Fed (2024)

FAQs

What are the two banks that collapsed in us? ›

Two regional US banks, California-based Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and New York's Signature Bank, have collapsed under the weight of heavy losses on their bond portfolios and a massive run on deposits.

Many smaller banks, such as this one in Haverhill, Iowa, lacked sufficient reserves to stay in business and became no more than convenient billboards. Many of the small banks had lent large portions of their assets for stock market speculation and were virtually put out of business overnight when the market crashed.

In most cases, the FDIC will try to find another banking institution to acquire the failed bank. If that happens, customers' accounts will simply transfer over to the new bank. You will get information about the transition, and you will likely get new debit cards and checks (if applicable).

2024 in Brief

There are no bank failures in 2024. See detailed descriptions below. For more bank failure information on a specific year, select a date from the drop down menu to the right or select a month within the graph.

Washington Mutual's failure in 2008, during the financial crisis, is the largest in the country's history. It stemmed from the bank's risky mortgage lending practices. Even more recently were the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in 2023.

He also describes how a declining money supply influences employment, inflation/deflation and economic output. "That is the monetary explanation for the Great Depression. Bank failures, bank runs cause a contraction of the money supply; causes a decline in spending, investing and GDP."

Understanding Bank Failures

The most common cause of bank failure is when the value of the bank's assets falls below the market value of the bank's liabilities, which are the bank's obligations to creditors and depositors. This might happen because the bank loses too much on its investments.

The Great Depression: Stock Market Crash of 1929

In addition, many companies were less than honest with their investors about their financials during the time leading into the crash. Later in 1930, the U.S. began experiencing bank runs due to this crisis, which led to a massive wave of bank failures.

Banking regulation has changed over the last 100 years to provide more protection to consumers. You can keep money in a bank account during a recession and it will be safe through FDIC and NCUA deposit insurance. Up to $250,000 is secure in individual bank accounts and $500,000 is safe in joint bank accounts.

Can the FDIC run out of money? ›

Still, the FDIC itself doesn't have unlimited money. If enough banks flounder at once, it could deplete the fund that backstops deposits. However, experts say even in that event, bank patrons shouldn't worry about losing their FDIC-insured money.

The fallout from a bank collapse can be widespread, hurting the bank's customers, employees, creditors, and even the entire economy. The bank and its shareholders are not the only stakeholders who suffer in a banking crisis. The bank's customers and account holders can be hit hard too.

In 2023, the US government and America's largest banks joined forces in a rare moment of comity. They were forced into action after Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapsed on March 10, 2023, quickly followed by two other lenders, First Republic and Signature Bank.

SVB's collapse marked the second largest bank failure in U.S. history after Washington Mutual's in 2008. While bank failures aren't uncommon, it's rare to see banks of SVB's size become insolvent.

There were 566 bank failures from 2001 through 2024. See Summary by Year below.