Editorial: Lessons From the Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank

On March 10, a Silicon Valley Bank customer reads a notice about the bank’s closure at its headquarters in Santa Clara, California, in the U.S. Photo: VCG

A round of banking crises has shaken the United States and Europe. Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in the U.S. has collapsed after a run, making it the most significant bank failure since the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009. After that, Silvergate Bank and Signature Bank also failed, while Credit Suisse Group has had to invest 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.3 billion) into the crisis-stricken Credit Suisse. Although the pace of bank failures has slowed and their impact has been limited, it remains unknown whether the SVB incident is just one episode in the fight against inflation or the first sign of more widespread financial crisis. Chinese financial institutions and regulators should seriously consider what lessons can be learned from these bank collapses.