A.G. Gancarski
Gov. Ron DeSantis is blaming woke economics for the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.
DeSantis, appearing on the Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo, expressed confidence that the issues the California financial institution is experiencing won’t reach Florida banks, while also offering a series of other insights about what may have led the bank to its current peril.
“So, I don’t have any specific information about any Florida bank similar to Silicon Valley Bank, and hopefully, that remains the case,” DeSantis said, before offering some speculation about philosophical reasons the bank is in turmoil.
“I mean, this bank, they’re so concerned with DEI and politics and all kinds of stuff. I think that really diverted from them focusing on their core mission,” DeSantis contended.
Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus echoed the same theme, telling Neil Cavuto of Fox News: “I feel bad for all of these people that lost all their money in this woke bank. You know, it was more distressing to hear that the bank officials sold off their stock before this happened. It’s depressing to me. Who knows whether the Justice Department would go after them? They’re a woke company, so I guess not. And they’ll probably get away with it.”
In March 2021, Marcus gave $250,000 to DeSantis’ re-election campaign.
According to a page on its website, the bank does promote Diversity Equity and Inclusion initiatives: “We are intentionally and strategically working for a world where every client and employee has the opportunity to bring their bold ideas to life. We also know that diverse perspectives and inclusive environments ignite new ideas to power innovation. That is why we’re building a culture of belonging with a global workforce that celebrates greater dimensions of diversity and reflects the markets we strive to serve.”
However, DEI notwithstanding, a more likely reason for the bank run that led to FDIC receivership could be its heavy investment in 10-year bonds with low-interest rates combined with the need for liquidity from its high-dollar account venture capital clients. When interest rates surged recently, SVB found itself in a cash crush, made worse by an earlier meltdown in the tech sector, causing many capital investors to scale back.
Silicon Valley Bank is the nation’s 16th-largest bank. It was the second-biggest bank failure in U.S. history after the collapse of Washington Mutual in 2008. The bank served mostly technology workers and venture capital-backed companies, including some of the industry’s best-known brands.
DeSantis did not address the bank’s investment strategy.
“I also look at it and say we have such a morass of federal regulations. We have a massive federal bureaucracy and yet they never seem to be able to be there when we, we need them to be able to prevent something like this,” DeSantis said, though it’s unclear what he would have had the federal government do to stop this from happening.
“And so, we’ll see what they do going into tomorrow. But I think it’s just very disappointing. Kind of reminds me of stuff that we saw in the financial crisis or Bernie Madoff where you had warning signs and yet the government that this is supposed to be their job and they always seem to whiff when it counts.”
Regulators seized the bank’s assets on Friday. Deposits that are insured by the federal government are supposed to be available by Monday morning.
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Material from The Associated Press was used in this post.
41 comments
Ian
March 12, 2023 at 12:07 pm
“I mean, this bank, they’re so concerned with DEI and politics and all kinds of stuff. I think that really diverted from them focusing on their core mission,” DeSantis contended.
From a guy who deviated from even pretending to Govern Florida as anything more than tax paying campaign props. Hate this guy
SteveF
March 12, 2023 at 12:35 pm
Typical Republican. Criticisms without Solutions. Yet he blames Government but it was the GQP that fought to repeal the Dodd-Frank Act that provides consumer protections against banks risker investments with consumers money. The HYPOCRISY….
Eeks
March 13, 2023 at 12:23 pm
“…repeal the Dodd-Frank Act that provides consumer protections against banks risker investments with consumers money” That may have been how Dodd-Frank was sold to a gullible public, but not what it actually did. SVB had an out-of-whack investment mix about 60% exposed to interest rate risk (mostly long term bonds). When Bidenomics caused massive inflation and interest rates had to be increased, the value of those bonds dropped significantly, resulting in the insolvency. Way to go Brandon!
nail
March 16, 2023 at 3:22 pm
Glad to see the MAGAts are not eating each other over this article as they do everything else. They can always use that same boogeyman Biden. He sends the MAGAts hiding:: blame it on Biden, not they lousy investments the banks did or the deregulations that trumpy put his name to that allow this to happen. BTW: where was the regulator that was in charge of overseeing these non existent regulations? He must be working for Peter Thiel Founders Fund, who made sure he started the ball rolling. Hope he gets sued by the other investor to high heaven. Maybe he can go to Desantis and get his $10 million back….
Omgoodness
March 17, 2023 at 3:14 pm
Daddy DeSantis certainly draws dem trolling !
Imagine wasting time on hate…so shameful !
DeSantis has the genome of Hero !
Little League World Series @ 13 years old !
Graduate of Yale and Captain of the baseball team !
BA in History and was a Teacher ! J D from Harvard !
Joined the Navy as an Officer !
Served in Iraq advising Seal Team One & received a Bronze Star ! Elected to Represent Florida in the House !
Elected Governor of Florida ! Father of three ! Attended every chemo treatment with his wife and carried her when she was too weak to walk !!!
What’s your resume Ian ???
Earl Pitts American
March 12, 2023 at 1:26 pm
Good afternoon America,
All leftists, 100% of them, know Desantis is correct. But all leftists want The Great Depression Part Ii also.
Idiots.
Thank you America,
Earl Pitts American
John Van Noate
March 12, 2023 at 1:42 pm
There are idiots and then there are idiots, Earl. You got mirrors in your house?
Philip Cramer
March 12, 2023 at 3:40 pm
Maybe if you’d read the article you might have come across this. “However, DEI notwithstanding, a more proximate reason for the bank run that led to FDIC receivership could be its heavy investment in 10-year bonds with low-interest rates combined with the need for liquidity from its high-dollar account venture capital clients. When interest rates surged recently, SVB found itself in a cash crush, made worse by an earlier meltdown in the tech sector, causing many capital investors to scale back.”
We leftists live in a pragmatic world. We read and we learn so we know DeSantis is full off BS.
Mr. Haney
March 12, 2023 at 10:19 pm
Wrong again Earl
Michael
March 13, 2023 at 8:02 am
And yet another moron with knee pads at work.
JD
March 13, 2023 at 4:33 pm
DeSantis could not be more wrong. This is pandering to cultural warriors pure and simple.
It was Trump’s removal of the Dodd-Frank policies and the low interest rates that caused this.
Oh, if DeSantis was so tell, how come the Florida Retirment System owns $14M worth of SVB parent company if they are so anti-woke?
BTW, Burbank called. He wants his moniker back for use without license.
nail
March 16, 2023 at 3:34 pm
DeSantis is the biggest putz in this country and with the change of 27,000 GQP of from the voter rolls in one month, Dec 2022-Jan 2023, it shows that Florida is WAKING UP” Ron DeSantis is always for the current thing. No core values or conviction. In 2020, his administration directed state universities to expand Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs.
Now he wants to ABOLISH DEI in higher ed and says it’s ‘woke indoctrination’.
DeSantis said the bank collapse of SVB was because of woke ideology and DEI
. Has anyone asked DeSantis why he had the Fl State Board of Administration $14 Million pension in SVB? Fl is listed as one of the pension plans involved SVB….
How about the Fl Teachers $300 Million Pension that DeSantis left in Russian ETFs when he was advised to remove it by investment advisors just before the war? But DeSantis knew best! He left the funds intact in the Russian ETFs.
Now that DeSantis supports Putin over the Ukraine, this $300 Million can be considered a gift to Putin, or he can still try to get the $.05 on the $1.00. He has still done nothing about it since 3/28/22.
Be warned FL, someone has to make up these funds by next year….It ain’t gonna be DeSantis ! This amount plus the 400% increase he wants to hire his legal friends for the remained of the budget session, plus the almost $2 billion for Disney and lets no forget the Treasury Dept wants the $4.7 Billion in Covid funds that he stole deciding not to give hot back to the govt. Didn’t even Rick Scott wrote a letter to Desantis “send the funds back to the govt.” Yeah, I remember that letter…..
Fl will be swampland again, before DeSantis finishes his term.To many know what is going on while the regular MAGAts that he pays on this site, continue to get their troll funds from Christina Pushaw.
nail
March 16, 2023 at 3:44 pm
You must have been under DeSantis private tutelage program for DEI and WOKE agendas because no one can actually be this ignorant without DeSantis’ help!
Tom
March 12, 2023 at 1:28 pm
Nice story there Ronnie. How convenient that you get to use the word ‘woke’ again. I guess it had nothing to do with them taking a loss on a bunch of crap bonds that they’d bought before interest rates started rising and their managements miscalculation on the timing of that exercise causing a run. What a clown Desantis is. He’s going to need some new material if he plans on keeping this up for another two years or whatever it is.
Hank
March 12, 2023 at 4:19 pm
Ron is effectively saying if the bank had only hired white men, this would not have happened.
Not only is he a racist, he’s ignorant, too.
Eeks
March 13, 2023 at 12:24 pm
Nice straw man!
Michael Newton
March 13, 2023 at 3:31 pm
Hank, couldn’t have said it better!
Jacksonville FL
Tom forstuff
March 12, 2023 at 6:04 pm
The GQP’s anti-woke mantra is getting ridiculous. Ron, Bernie, and the rest of them have no idea what really caused this bank’s problems, just that 1) the bank is on the left coast and 2) something bad happened.
I’m guessing that the following are automatically “woke” as well:
– cancer
– high cholesterol
– the last episode of Seinfeld
– pineapple on pizza
nail
March 12, 2023 at 7:16 pm
SVB shuts down; pension funds, investors measure their losses. Wonder if anyone has asked DeSantis had the Fl State Board of Administration pension in SVB?
DeSantis has been urged to untangle Florida $300 M that’s invested/ lost in Russia. Was it a gift to Putin or just another “woke” act. Has he ever gotten around to that?
Eeks
March 13, 2023 at 12:27 pm
SVB was known in part for its commitment to ESG investing. Didn’t Florida pass a law forbidding investment in ESG type funds and institutions?
BB
March 13, 2023 at 2:56 pm
The SBA of Florida Retirement held 62,748 shares of SIVB equity as of 12/31/2022, valued at $14.4 million.
nail
March 12, 2023 at 7:35 pm
Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund had no money with Silicon Valley Bank as of Thursday morning as the bank descended into chaos. Thiel was the catalyst. Maybe he should ask DeSantis for that $10 million back…
Eeks
March 13, 2023 at 12:28 pm
Given their commitment to ESG investment preferences, why would Peter Thiel EVER have had any funds invested there?
Omgoodness
March 17, 2023 at 3:23 pm
Thiel, isn’t that the billionaire who built an underground hidden mansion in New Zealand ?
I believe he said he wanted to feel safe when society collapsed…I think he declared that just before CCP Virus was leaked across the World…Is that the same Thiel ??
JAlaska
March 12, 2023 at 8:28 pm
It’s amazing the blatant racism that “leaders” elected to govern all of us get to say openly. The term woke means nothing except “they aren’t heterosexual white people.” Wow Florida, such amazing “Christian values.”
Eeks
March 13, 2023 at 12:31 pm
” The term woke means nothing except “they aren’t heterosexual white people.” ” DINGDINGDING this comment wins! Most moronic and dishonest comment on the internet today! Congratulations!
Sandra
March 12, 2023 at 8:57 pm
I guess none of these guys lived through the savings & loan crisis, which was caused by mismatched assets and liabilities and excessive risk. This has zero – zero- to do with Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. We cannot elect a MORON to the presidency.
Eeks
March 13, 2023 at 12:33 pm
“…savings & loan crisis, which was caused by mismatched assets and liabilities and excessive risk.” I was there – the real cause was CONGRESS killing off accelerated depreciation, suddenly making the net present value of billions of dollars worth of real estate investments drop precipitously. One day the S&L’s were solvent, and the next day they weren’t. Thanks again, CONGRESS!
boogieman
March 13, 2023 at 7:07 pm
So you’re blaming Congress? You mean Trump’s Congress who sent the reform bill for him to sign? Remember SVB argued they were “too small” to worry about regulating? Yet you also magically claim the gullible-public-fooling Dodd-Frank Act- after being reformed- caused the insolvency, so… Biden! Also, SVB did nothing wrong but ESG investing, not excessive risk? Cool story, bro. Oh, but you were there, so… guess it’s your fault then.
Omgoodness
March 17, 2023 at 2:47 pm
I understand the reform of BHO’s Dodd -Frank was supported by 36% of D-Senators, 17% of D-Rep’s, SVB’s CEO Greg Becker personally lobbied for it, and lastly Barney Frank declared parts of Dodd-Frank were a mistake and fully supported the reforms.
Greg Baker cashed in all his SVB chips just before his fine fiasco and ole Barney Frank just so happens was a SVB board member…
The DEI & ESG focuses which have Blackrock’s Larry Fink fingerprints throughout the financial service & investment sector are destroying America !
The San Fran Federal Reserve was asleep at the wheel of financial oversight while driving the diversity bus with the pedal to the metal…..
Left Coast is the contagion and Brandon Biden with these Federal Reserve incompetents are declaring we will cover Investors…why ?
The top ten Institutional investors held 25,751,807 shares in this distinctly corrupted corporation whose purpose morphed from fiduciary to bloviated leftcoast crap shoot…rainbow (not yellow)brick road:
Vanguard Group Inc 6,657,712
Blackrock (rat Fink) 4,764,351
State Street 3,082,695
Alecta Pensionsforesakring 2,633,100
Vanguard Total, Midcap, 500 , Growth Index funds had 8.37 % of mutual fund exposure worth on 9-2022 declarations of $525,065,334 +$705,983,786 =
$ 1.2 plus trillion just for Vanguard
Federal Reserve and “everyboard” member of everyone of these Huge Firms Entrusted with Investment Funds and everyone of these F-ing CEO, CFO and Diversity Kings and Queens should be prosecuted For Treason
DeSatan DeSucks
March 13, 2023 at 8:57 am
Cool story meatball.
woke forever
March 13, 2023 at 10:27 am
Rona is a four letter word too. Rona thinks he can redefine “woke.” Rona thinks that if he call’s something or someone “woke” that we think it’s bad. Rona ain’t woke to himself. Rona isn’t doing his job because he’s running for President of the US. He”s in Iowa, then on Fix Entertainment TV. Meanwhile, red tide is all along the SW coast killing marine life and sickening people. Meanwhile, millions of Floridians are living in poverty. Rona is only looking out for Rona and the other elite pigs that run things. Yale, Harvard Law elite go suck your gold spoon.
Greg
March 13, 2023 at 3:31 pm
I guarantee there will be banks failing because they are over-extended in Florida real estate too.
JD
March 13, 2023 at 4:29 pm
The anti-woke crickets are blaming the banks policies of DEI / ESG as the reason when it was really the banks own growth fueled by the forever low interest rates of the Fed, the removal of Dodd-Frank by Trump’s minions on bank ratios, and now the raising of interest rates now. I love right sided spin into untruths.
Jack
March 13, 2023 at 4:32 pm
Are all the insurance companies failing in Florida because they are woke?
Merlino Jim
March 13, 2023 at 5:18 pm
If I am not mistaken all of the banks that have failed in the history of the USA, including SVB, have been run by white men. May be time to let other have a chance at a 245 year record of failure.
Madison
March 15, 2023 at 7:01 pm
SVB was so woke that hard right-winger Peter Thiel kept his Founders Fund there.
Seriously, how stupid do you have to be to buy DeSantis’ argument that wokism tanked the bank? Are Floridians that bereft of cognitive capacity?
LB
March 15, 2023 at 7:41 pm
Gov Ron is a moron like his buddy with orange skin and yellow hair. I am sure Fla is proud. Because of them I will NEVER vacation in Fla. Ron needs to wake up about woke
Those guys who sold stock and withdrew money started to run on SVB. Everyone will get money back thanks to present administration Thanks Mr President. LB
Earl Pitts American
March 16, 2023 at 7:19 am
Good morning America,
Look at how defensive all the illiberals have gotten in their lying comments above. HA HA. They only rally a full press illiberal gang bang as you can prove by reading their lying desperate dook 4 brains comments above when we got their liberal Gods and Minions totally exposed for the dook 4 brains they are.
Your illiberal bank management just got caught with their pants down and their putskis in hand and you FP idiot illiberal commenters rush to their defense with your BS.
HA HA leftist idiots!
Thank you America,
Earl Pitts American wins again!!! As usual.
JD
March 16, 2023 at 4:15 pm
I get it now, you’re just the contrarian troll.
Nice try Christina, go get another lip injection.
Earl Pitts American
March 19, 2023 at 7:26 pm
Good evening Americe,
Thank you to each and every one of my employees pretending to post under the duress of suffering from an extream case of leftist dysphoria above.
I was going to ask some of you to ratchett it down a bit because even leftists lunatics could never be as shizz for brains in regards to the extent some of you are taking it to.
But then my beautiful wife Ms Earline Pitts American told me some leftists are even stupider than how you guys are portraying leftists to be.
So keep it up guys and throw more gas on the fire. You are all an intrigal part of the Earl Pitts American Team and doing a great job portraying crazy leftists. I love you guys.
Thank you my employees.
Earl ( your boss) Pitts American
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