[HN Gopher] A Bank of One's Own
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       A Bank of One's Own
        
       Author : foundart
       Score  : 54 points
       Date   : 2023-03-11 20:24 UTC (2 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (nayafia.substack.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (nayafia.substack.com)
        
       | RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote:
       | > But the only way they were able to participate in that world,
       | and serve as a role model for others, was by quietly borrowing
       | from a bank that understood what it meant to be a young venture
       | capitalist with carry, but not enough savings.
       | 
       | Using borrowed money for venture capital seems very risky and not
       | something that a bank should be celebrated for enabling.
        
         | margorczynski wrote:
         | Wasn't mixing "normal" banking with investment banking banned
         | in the US after 2007? Or this is something else that doesn't
         | fall into that category?
        
       | breck wrote:
       | > Silicon Valley Bank is not a bank for rich people.
       | 
       | Dataset needed.
        
       | foundart wrote:
       | An interesting take on SVB
        
       | latchkey wrote:
       | > I'm perplexed, then, to see so many people gleefully celebrate
       | the collapse of an institution that helped level the playing
       | field for people from all backgrounds.
       | 
       | It isn't about being gleeful. This bank took massive risks, which
       | were enabled by Trump changing the laws (and they supported),
       | which then allowed them to take even more risky bets (aka: level
       | the playing field).
       | 
       | https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/03/silicon-valley-...
       | 
       | Now we get to see the fallout from all of that, which was even
       | predicted by someone who was paying attention...
       | 
       | https://seekingalpha.com/article/4565388-svb-financial-blow-...
       | 
       | https://seekingalpha.com/article/4586033-svb-financial-blew-...
       | 
       | https://seekingalpha.com/article/4586342-svb-financial-today...
        
       | erik_seaberg wrote:
       | It worries me that people assume SVB must have taken crazy risks
       | on startups or crypto, when the actual mistake was locking up so
       | much money in long-term mortgage and Treasury bonds.
        
       | hn_throwaway_99 wrote:
       | I thought this was a great post. I've commented elsewhere that
       | I'd be pissed at the moral hazard of unsecured depositors getting
       | a federal bailout (though not if the feds just assist in finding
       | a buyer or do as much as possible to ensure depositors can access
       | their funds quickly), but at the same time I'm saddened by so
       | much of the gleeful tribalism I see online (but not too saddened
       | - many of the "dancing on your grave" posts stand out primarily
       | for their stupidity).
       | 
       | SVB _was_ uniquely positioned to help the startup ecosystem in a
       | way that larger banks were not. I hope something similar replaces
       | them (albeit with better risk controls for their asset
       | portfolio).
        
         | roundandround wrote:
         | It seems to me like too much of the current situation has
         | jurisdictional gaming. We complain that banks no longer want to
         | take the risk of their traditional role in small business loans
         | and have a lot of economic distortion from that.
         | 
         | Silicon Valley apparently had better access to a bank that took
         | risks and seems to be the bank of over half of tech and public
         | health startups..
         | 
         | Other jurisdictions should feel a bit cheated if their
         | regulators didn't help their small business get the most out
         | financing and FDIC bailouts.. Internationally, other countries
         | have to question why they aren't giving some kind of handouts
         | to gain more of the startup scene for occasional crises.
         | 
         | Really a fine mess.
        
       | [deleted]
        
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       (page generated 2023-03-11 23:00 UTC)