Twitter CEO Elon Musk has said he could buy out the failed Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Musk was replying to a post on Twitter following the spectacular collapse of the start-up focused California bank, which was the 16th biggest American bank before it went belly up.
Musk’s show of interest came after Min-Liang Tan, co-founder and CEO of Razer, suggested Musk buy the collapsed bank. “I think Twitter should buy SVB and become a digital bank,” Tan tweeted. “I’m open to the idea,” Musk replied.
Silicon Valley Bank was shut down by California regulators on Friday and US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) took over the failed bank, marking the biggest bank failure since 2008 in the United States. The tech-focused bank was ranked as the 16th biggest lender in the US at the end of 2022 and had more than $210 billion in assets. Even as billions of dollars of investor money is in limbo following the spectacular failure, the FDIC will now take over as the receiver who will manage the assets and liabilities.
FDIC Looking for a Merger Deal
The interesting exchange comes amid reports that the FDIC is looking to find an American bank that would merge with the Silicon Valley Bank. According to FDIC, the crisis can be stemmed if it can seal a merger deal by Monday. If such a deal emerges, the unsecured deposits can be safeguarded. FDIC is an independent federal agency that insures bank deposits and oversees financial institutions.
FDIC has said the main office and branches of SVB will reopen on March 13, making it possible for all insured depositors to access their deposits. However, according to the FDIC’s own calculation, nearly 90 percent of the Silicon Valley Bank’s $175 billion in deposits are uninsured, raising questions if the large number of investors will ever get their money back at all. FDIC protects only up to $2,50,000 in insured deposits, making it important to seal a merger deal that would save the uninsured deposits.
