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Timeline: The Shocking Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank

by Dorothy Neufeld
This post is by Dorothy Neufeld from Visual Capitalist

Infographic showing the lead-up to the collapse of SVB

Timeline: The Shocking Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank

Just days ago, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was still viewed as a highly-respected player in the tech space, counting thousands of U.S. venture capital-backed startups as its customers.

But fast forward to the end of last week, and SVB was shuttered by regulators after a panic-induced bank run.

So, how exactly did this happen? We dig in below.

Road to a Bank Run

SVB and its customers generally thrived during the low interest rate era, but as rates rose, SVB found itself more exposed to risk than a typical bank. Even so, at the end of 2022, the bank’s balance sheet showed no cause for alarm.

Summary of the SVB balance sheet at the end of 2022

As well, the bank was viewed positively in a number of places. Most Wall Street analyst ratings were overwhelmingly positive on the bank’s stock, and Forbes had just added the bank to its Financial All-Stars list.

Outward signs of trouble emerged on Wednesday, March 8th, when SVB surprised investors with news that the bank needed to raise more than $2 billion to shore up its balance sheet.

The reaction from prominent venture capitalists was not positive, with Coatue Management, Union Square Ventures, and Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund moving to limit exposure to the 40-year-old bank. The influence of these firms is believed to have added fuel to the fire, and a bank run ensued.

Also influencing decision making was the fact that SVB had the highest percentage of uninsured domestic deposits of all big banks. (Read more...)

Timeline: The Shocking Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank

by Dorothy Neufeld
This post is by Dorothy Neufeld from Visual Capitalist

Infographic showing the lead-up to the collapse of SVB

Timeline: The Shocking Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank

Just days ago, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was still viewed as a highly-respected player in the tech space, counting thousands of U.S. venture capital-backed startups as its customers.

But fast forward to the end of last week, and SVB was shuttered by regulators after a panic-induced bank run.

So, how exactly did this happen? We dig in below.

Road to a Bank Run

SVB and its customers generally thrived during the low interest rate era, but as rates rose, SVB found itself more exposed to risk than a typical bank. Even so, at the end of 2022, the bank’s balance sheet showed no cause for alarm.

Summary of the SVB balance sheet at the end of 2022

As well, the bank was viewed positively in a number of places. Most Wall Street analyst ratings were overwhelmingly positive on the bank’s stock, and Forbes had just added the bank to its Financial All-Stars list.

Outward signs of trouble emerged on Wednesday, March 8th, when SVB surprised investors with news that the bank needed to raise more than $2 billion to shore up its balance sheet.

The reaction from prominent venture capitalists was not positive, with Coatue Management, Union Square Ventures, and Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund moving to limit exposure to the 40-year-old bank. The influence of these firms is believed to have added fuel to the fire, and a bank run ensued.

Also influencing decision making was the fact that SVB had the highest percentage of uninsured domestic deposits of all big banks. (Read more...)

Ranked: The World’s Most Valuable Bank Brands (2019-2023)

by Marcus Lu
This post is by Marcus Lu from Visual Capitalist

most valuable bank brands

The World’s Most Valuable Bank Brands (2019-2023)

Since 2019, Chinese banks have held the top four spots on Brand Finance’s Banking 500—an annual ranking of the most valuable bank brands.

Brand value in this context is a measure of the “value of the trade mark and associated marketing IP within the branded business”. In other words, it measures the value of intangible marketing assets, and not the overall worth of the business itself.

In this infographic, we’ve visualized the Banking 500’s top 10 brands since 2019 to show you how the ranking has evolved (or stayed the same).

Top Bank Brands of 2023

The 10 most valuable bank brands of 2023 are evenly split between China and the United States. In terms of combined brand value, China leads with $262 billion to America’s $165 billion.

RankBankBrand Value (USD billions)
1🇨🇳 ICBC$69.5
2🇨🇳 China Construction Bank$62.7
3🇨🇳 Agricultural Bank of China$57.7
4🇨🇳 Bank of China$47.3
5🇺🇸 Bank of America$38.6
6🇺🇸 Wells Fargo$33.0
7🇺🇸 JP Morgan$31.8
8🇺🇸 Chase$31.3
9🇺🇸 Citi$30.6
10🇨🇳 China Merchants Bank$24.5

Chinese banks have a massive market to serve, which helps to lift the perceived value of their brands. For example, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) serves over 500 million individuals as well as several million business clients.

It’s worth noting that ICBC is the world’s largest bank in terms of assets under management ($5.5 trillion as of Dec 2021), and in terms of (Read more...)