CH1
"Red Guard"(NLYL)
This is bad.
The Wells Fargo Bank seems to have been ailing for some time - see this July 2020 article The Looming Bank Collapse
This is bad.
Unless your Tech startup recieved a lot of wedge form VC backers lately, you're unlikely to be directly connected - but there is a contagion risk, more from the Silvergate collapse - the fed having taken SVB over, though it looks like lots of cash will be lost as they are only talking about Federal Deposit G'tee levels of support - max $250k per account - the rest they will try to recoup. In both cases neither back had ANY kind of hedge agianst interest rate rises, 1 year one from the Fed raising rates and saying they were going to raise em more. instead both had all deposits parked in US Govies bonds. Idiocy. I know they were bankers to Techies, but they should not have thought they were somehow vitual and thus not involved in the real world, so needed to make no provision. Goldmans/Citi/BOA etc would have written an Interest Rate swap for the full at risk capital for a few million - cheap concidering the losses now incurred. Hope they charge thes buggers with some serious incompetance related stufftldr
i just hope they lose their own money and not ours
If I were the Fed, I’d be taking this as a warning sign that the markets can’t cope with the pace of change in base rates, and I need to halt the increases for a bit. They may have too much tunnel vision to see it, though.
The Wells Fargo Bank seems to have been ailing for some time - see this July 2020 article The Looming Bank Collapse
US or UK? UK regulation already requires assets to be measured at market valueif the banks did a mark to market exercise with their bond holdings they would all be bust.
Isn't hedging used to protect against such eventualities?Essentially, they hadnt noticed the value had dropped so much in Treasury Bonds they held they went from having bank capital of 18 billion to 1 billion in the last year as the Fed had cranked rates, reducing the Bonds value massively. Neither had they noticed tht they huge amounts in the longer term bonds meaning that they had to pay billions in early redemption fees, so their 1 bill became negative - for example of the notional $22.5 billion portfolio had it been held to term they sold on Thurs, they made a $1.8 billion loss so if the liquidated the whole lot of the 200 bil plus they had as collateral for the deposits, they would be 20+ BILLION short of the depositors funds and the bank itself would have zero capital!!!! Fucking idiots. Reuters reporting it was a call form Moodys, the ratings crew, on Wed that first alerted them to their impending insolvency - Moodys said, you underwater, we're gonna down grade you - sqeaky bum time caused the sudden sale, they had a committedment form a hedgey to take .5 bill of the share offering they planned to plug the gap, but were unable to secure the rest of the $1.8 bill they were touting overnight - few have that kind of instant cash, even in Hedgie land - it also seems they had not planned any of this, it was all shit the kecks and flail about after the Moodys call so were unable to present a coherent plan to potential investors. Jeffries are now offer the starups to buy their claim against SVB for uninsured deposits - ie the majority of clients - for 70c in the $ - 30 % haircut!!! - but thats the highest, many vulture funds offering 50 - 60c. In short total shambles of the management caused this, no hedges, do diversification, no risk management, no ALM (Asset and Liability Committee) just bundle all the wedge into Govies - all US - higher yields avail from $ denominated Supras - eg Japan bank for International Cooperation, backed by the Japanese Govt was paying 4.75% - so no FX risk and just as safe as the US ones they held, only paying 4% more. I found that out it 5 minutes, have their management been in a collective coma???? Equally, the regulators should have seen this, to me they look below minimum capital adequacy ratio Complete shit show with Fking bells on it
Exactly, but they had not bothered!!! Their CEO also sat on the local Fed board, who oversee banks in California. He seems to have been removed from his post as of Friday aftyIsn't hedging used to protect against such eventualities?
Had an "everything is OK" email from our CFO. Let's see.
Depends. Banks have to for "Regulatory Capital", ie the minimum level of funds needed to meet their capital adequacy requirements - which should mean they do not have to sell securities at a lower than face value, just to pay any depositors who need their cash - often referred to to as Tier one capital - like brown fat releases energy faster than the rest of our blubber, but longer term energy stays stored. Its really basic stuffUS or UK? UK regulation already requires assets to be measured at market value
Exactly, but they had not bothered!!! Their CEO also sat on the local Fed board, who oversee banks in California. He seems to have been removed from his post as of Friday afty
hey we found the problem with SVB