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by koalala 1190 days ago
so they would've been fine if only everyone could've waited 30 years? isn't that completely irrelevant to probably every depositor?
1 comments

Of course it is irrelevant to depositors, that is why the bank failed.

However, it also proves that holding bonds to maturity is different from selling them at market rates. It demonstrates the distinction between solvency and liquidity. Every financial publication has made this point when discussing SVB in order to educate their readership about the problems of duration risk and explain how a bank with enough assets to cover liabilities can still fail.

Now, the nice thing is, the government has time to wait for the bonds to mature. So the government can take the bonds, pay off the depositors, and get the money back when the bonds mature. The government won't lose money if they do it right -- just like they didn't lose money with TARP in 2008.