[villagevanguard]

> reminder that bank runs wouldn't be a thing if we did duration matching, forbidding banks from borrowing short and lending long

What is the business then? In order for it to be a business, a bank needs to earn a higher interest rate on what they lend than on what they borrow.

The bank has two choices to achieve this delta in interest rates. It can either 1. mismatch duration or 2. make loans that are riskier than their borrowings. By banning the first, you are implicitly claiming that the second is preferable. Is the second really preferable? Maybe. But not obviously.

I have no special sympathies for Silicon Valley Bank, but the reason its customers still have deposits today is that the bank leaned more toward the duration mismatch than the risk mismatch. What happens if you achieve your interest rate delta by making super risky loans and all those loans turn to goose eggs? Bye bye customer deposits.