Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola Fact Checked March 27, 2023
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
Three large banks failed in a single week in March 2023, and the ripple effect could easily
take down the entire banking system. The cascading bank failures began March 8 with
the shut down and liquidation of the crypto bank Silvergate Capital. It had invested
deposits in Treasury bonds, which lost value as interest rates were hiked to stem inflation
March 10, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) failed. It too was invested in government bonds,
which again became a problem when customers began making large fear-based
withdrawals. This was the second largest bank failure in U.S. history, and the largest
since the financial crisis in 2008
Spooked by the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank customers withdrew more
than $10 billion in the days that followed, resulting in the shutdown of Signature Bank on
March 12
Government regulators have promised to make customers of the two banks “whole” by
insuring all funds, not just the first $250,000. Only select “too big to fail” banks will be
eligible for this kind of special treatment. Small local banks will not be eligible
The most likely outcome of this bailout system is a consolidation of banks until we’re left
with just a small number of mega-banks. This consolidation, in turn, will facilitate the
rollout of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), as the banking industry will be a tight-
knit monopoly