The Facts
On Sunday, New York bank regulators shut down Signature Bank to protect consumers and the financial network. The closing marks the third major bank collapse in less than a week.
A joint statement from the US Treasury, Federal Reserve, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced the closing and said that: "as with the resolution of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), no losses will be borne by the taxpayer. Shareholders and certain unsecured debtholders will not be protected."
The Spin
Narrative A
The banking collapse last week set off more than a financial panic. Key players in the crypto, tech, and government sectors are now playing the blame game. Crypto backers and fans blame centralized banking and the feds for over-regulating, while the tech investors are pointing the finger at the bad actors of the crypto realm like Sam Bankman-Fried that resulted in the overnight collapse. One thing is for certain, it's been a hard year for both tech and crypto and the outlook isn't getting any better.
Narrative B
The US government is very concerned about protecting depositors through this banking collapse but make no mistake, a bailout for these banking institutions is not an option. Following the last financial collapse, a major government bailout took place forcing a reform to our systems and it cannot happen again. Regulators must review their options while considering that the fallout will be far-reaching and extraordinary measures should be used to provide protection and rights during this crisis. Those graces should not be extended to shareholders.