The collapse of the Silicon Valley and Silvergate Banks over the weekend has financial markets shaken up, but Wisconsin banks are well-positioned to handle the problems.
UW-Madison finance professor Roberto Robatto says looser banking regulations were a factor in the bank’s collapse.
“There was exceptions, a regulatory exception that were made for so-called medium-sized banks, like Silicon Valley Banks, they lobbied a lot for that. And again, this is the consequence.”
Central Wisconsin financial advisor Meryl (MER-l) Kelch says the issues that plagued the recreantly-shuttered institution aren’t issues around here.
“We make conservative loans to houses that actually exist, conservatively valued.”
Robatto says the bottom line is that the bank ran out of money after making lots of decisions that relied on the government keeping interest rates low. On Monday, President Joe Biden says the government will cover people with money in the bank, but not its stockholders.