The Blubber

Per WSJ

Lawmakers and social-media observers said that many messages on social media helped fuel anxiety during a time when people were less confident with the US banking system. An article by WSJ mentions "Twitter and other social media platforms" as factors that affected the recent runs on banks.

Certain examples were shared in the article, including a post by Kim Dotcom, an entrepreneur and internet personality, who tweeted out "Run on the bank!" which gained over 3,000 reposts.

William Ackman, a billionaire investor, tweeted that the lack of a systemwide guarantee for deposits by the FDIC would result in more bank runs. It was mentioned that Ackman's message was reposted over 2,500 times.

Ackman: “Absent a systemwide @FDICgov deposit guarantee, more bank runs begin Monday am,”

Federal regulators announced emergency measures on Sunday to help ease fears regarding the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the trust in the US banking system. Government regulators took over SVB on Friday and said depositors could withdraw all their money.

The House Financial Services Committee chairman Rep. Patrick McHenry gave a statement specifically mentioning Twitter and its supposed role in the current situation.

Rep. Patrick McHenry: “This was the first Twitter-fueled bank run,”

A former Twitter board member and head of product, Jason Goldman, commented on the situation.

Goldman: “That’s still something that Twitter the service, and services in general, struggle with: trying to get their arms around how to make sure that the worst impulses of the crowd aren’t the ones that can manifest most easily,”

Silicon Valley Bank reportedly functioned without a Chief Risk Officer for nine months, from April 2022 to January 2023. Laura Izurieta, the former CRO, exited her role on April 29, receiving $2 million for her work in 2022 and $460,000 in severance.

Silicon Valley Bank insiders sold over $84 million worth of stock in the last two years.

See flow at unusualwhales.com/flow.

Other News:

• Silicon Valley Bank had no Chief Risk Officer for 9 months, from April 2022 until January 2023
• Insiders at Silicon Valley Bank sold more than $84 million worth of stock just over the past two years

Resources:

Wall Street Journal