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BBC Pidgin of Wednesday, 15 March 2023

Source: BBC

Wetin we sabi about di Silicon Valley and Signature Bank collapse?

Pipo dey stand in front of Silicon Valley Bank Pipo dey stand in front of Silicon Valley Bank

Di value in shares for some banks bin drop around di world afta di collapse of two US banks. So how bad e be and wetin e mean for you?

Wen di US president imsef go out of im way to tell pipo say dia moni safe, den you know di goment dey take financial crash serious.

Joe Biden assurance on Monday no be only for customers of di two failed banks. Many tins dey inside am, for di US and across di world.

Dis na five of di big questions afta di collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank.

Why Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank fail?

Na US regulators shut down Silicon Valley Bank wey specialise in lending moni to technology companies. Di regulators seize di bank assets on Friday. Na di biggest failure of a US bank since di financial crisis wey happun for 2008.

Dem bin don dey try to raise moni to plug one loss from di sale of assets wey higher interest rates affect.

News of di troubles make customers to quickly withdraw funds and dis one lead to cash crisis.

Authorities on Sunday also take ova Signature Bank for New York. Dis bank get many clients wey dey involved in crypto.

Both SVB and Signature Bank specialise in one sector. Dem bin dey exposed to assets wey dia values come under pressure sake of rising interest rates.

Which oda banks dey at risk?

Bank shares for US, Asia and Europe slump afta di collapse of SVB and Signature Bank as investors dey fear about di general state of di banking sector.

Smaller US lenders also dey affected, although dem rally on Tuesday. Di initial sell-off come despite say dem reassure customers say dem get access to enough cash to dey able to protect demsef from shocks.

Investors dey worry say di failures of di two banks na sign of troubles for oda firms.

Since most banks spread dia exposure across lots of sectors and also get plenty cash for hand, di assumption be say, di risk to di rest of di banking sector dey low.

However, do failures don highlight di fact say many banks dey riskier dan wetin pipo dey see, sake of say many fit go don sustain losses on dia investments for goment bonds as interest rates go up, and push dia value down.

Dis na prospect wey investors dey wake up to in recent days, and na one reason why bank shares fall.

Shey your moni safe?

Di US goment bin don guarantee bank deposits under under $250,000 - and if you be like most pipo, you fit no get more dan dat amount for one bank account.

SVB and Signature get different set of customers: SVB cater largely to start-up tech firms, while Signature Bank na commercial bank wey focus on corporate customers. Many of dose accounts get amounts wey pass $250,000 level.

But action wey di Treasury Department, Federal Reserve and di Federal Insurance Deposit Corporation (FDIC) take ova di weekend, mean say even dose customers no go lose dia moni.

President Biden tok for dis week say dose moves suppose reassure Americans wey dey worried about di banking system: “Your deposits go dey dia wen you need dem.”

Meanwhile, HSBC don make move to buy UK arm of SVB, and dis one bring relief to UK tech firms wey warn say dem fit all dia moni witout help.

Di move mean say customers and business wey bin don dey unable to withdraw dia moni don dey able to access am as normal.

Taxpayers dey fund di rescue?

For UK, di goment and di bank of England work ova di weekend to scramble togeda di HSBC purchase of SVB wey involve no involve taxpayer moni.

HSBC pay just £1 for SVB's UK arm.

American regulators don try to sell SVB. Dem don also create one completely new lending programme. E allow banks wey dey face similar problems to use some of dia financial assets as di means to get loan from di Federal Reserve, America’s central bank.

Dis newly created programme essentially act as backstop to make sure banks go dey able to meet all di needs of dia depositors.

But di question of weda di goment dey bail out trouble bank remain one controversial political issue, reflecting lingering anger ova aid wey dem give to Wall Street during di 2008 financial crisis.

President Biden on Monday tok say di leadership of any bank wey dey taken ova by di FDIC go chop sack, and dis one make am clear say dem go hold pipo wey dey responsible. E assure say di American pipo no go pay di price.

"Taxpayers no go bear di losses. Make I repeat am: Taxpayer no go bear di losses," Oga Biden tok. Instead, di moni go come from di fees wey banks pay into di Deposit Insurance Fund.

But di reality be say most Americans na bank customers. Di fees wey dem dey charge to banks eventually roll down to di customer. SO even if no be through dia taxes, Americans dey on di hook.

Which industries dey hit?

SVB na crucial lender for early-stage businesses, so dia collapse lead to fears about knock-on impact to many other industries, from climate tech to medical research.

Di company na di banking partner for nearly half of US venture-backed technology and healthcare companies wey list on stock markets last year.

And although di UK arm of SVB bin dey small wit just ova 3,000 business customers, di collapse fit don create "a serious risk to some of our most promising companies in technology and life sciences", UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt tok.

One company wey dey caught up in di fallout na US-based online crafts marketplace Etsy.

Ova di weekend, di company say dem don experience a delay in issuing payments to some sellers related to di collapse of SVB.

Dem say teams "bin work around di clock to implement solution" and say dem dey able to issue di deposits on Monday.

Wetin di bank collapse mean for interest rates?

Di Federal Reserve don dey aggressively raise interest rates to try and slow down di economy. But dem partly blame rising interest rates for dis crisis.

Figures on Tuesday show US annual inflation dey 6% for February, wit persistently higher prices wey highlight di challenges for di Fed.

Now, general nervousness dey among investors about where di next crisis caused by rising rates fit turn up.

Who be di pesin wey go dey at risk? Some investors and financial analysts dey even speculate say di Federal Reserve go stop hiking rates in response to di events of di past few days, or even start cutting.

Playbook no dey for dis, na uncharted territory.