California's Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) failed on March 10, prompting government action to ensure "that the ... banking system continues to perform its vital roles of protecting deposits and providing access to credit," the U.S. Department of Treasury said.
It remains unclear if or how the bank's failure will affect medical imaging firms in the state or around the world. As of March 13, the American College of Radiology (ACR) declined to comment.
In a March 12 announcement, the Department of Treasury, along with the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), said it would take measures to "protect the U.S. economy by strengthening public confidence in our banking system."
"After receiving a recommendation from the boards of the FDIC and the Federal Reserve, and consulting with the President, Secretary [of the Treasury Janet] Yellen approved actions enabling the FDIC to complete its resolution of Silicon Valley Bank, Santa Clara, California, in a manner that fully protects all depositors," the agencies said. "Depositors will have access to all of their money starting Monday, March 13. No losses associated with the resolution of Silicon Valley Bank will be borne by the taxpayer."
In a March 13 statement, Silicon Valley Bank said that the FDIC has transferred all deposits to a "newly created, full-service FDIC-operated 'bridge bank' " to protect Silicon Valley Bank depositors. The Department of the Treasury said it also planned to enact a similar support measure for Signature Bank in New York City, which closed on March 12.
"All depositors of this institution will be made whole," the Department of the Treasury said. "As with the resolution of Silicon Valley Bank, no losses will be borne by the taxpayer."
On March 8, SVB "announced it had sold $21 billion worth of its securities at a roughly $1.8 billion loss and said it needed to raise $2.25 billion to meet clients' withdrawal needs and fund new lending," according to a CNBC report. Stock prices tumbled and venture capital firms and other depositors sought to withdraw their funds from the bank and "within a day, SVB stock had tanked 60% and led to a loss of more than $80 billion in bank shares globally," CNBC said.
Among other customers, the bank's depositors include technology startups and California wineries, a Yahoo!Finance report noted.
