Dramatic collapses made 2023 the biggest year ever for bank failures (2024)

Before Silicon Valley Bank collapsed in March, it had been 28 months since a U.S. bank went up in smoke — the longest stretch without a failure in more than 15 years.

SVB's unexpected demise kicked off a historic year for bank failures. The banks that went under had $548.7 billion of combined assets, the largest total ever in a single year — outpacing both 1984, when Continental Illinois failed (Bank of America eventually bought the remnants), and 2008, when Washington Mutual collapsed (JPMorgan Chase purchased what was left).

San Francisco-based First Republic Bank goes down as the second-largest failure in U.S. history. Santa Clara, California-based Silicon Valley Bank follows at number three on the all-time list and New York City-based Signature Bank is the fourth-largest bank to fail.

The year also brought the demise of crypto-friendly Silvergate Bank — in what was a voluntary self-liquidation rather than a failure — and the failure of Heartland Tri-State Bank after its CEO reportedly fell victim to a crypto scam. In all, five banks failed, the most in a single year since 2017.

The failures come at a considerable cost to more than 100 surviving banks that have more than $5 billion of assets. Those larger banks will have to pay special assessments of 13.4 basis points annually to make up for a $16.3 billion hit to the Deposit Insurance Fund.

What follows is a recap of the year when bank failures roared back to bite the industry.

Dramatic collapses made 2023 the biggest year ever for bank failures (2024)

FAQs

Dramatic collapses made 2023 the biggest year ever for bank failures? ›

Dramatic collapses made 2023 the biggest year ever for bank failures. Before Silicon Valley Bank

Silicon Valley Bank
Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) is a commercial bank division of First Citizens BancShares. The bank was previously the primary subsidiary of SVB Financial Group, a publicly traded bank holding company that had offices in 15 U.S. states and over a dozen international jurisdictions.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Silicon_Valley_Bank
collapsed in March, it had been 28 months since a U.S. bank went up in smoke — the longest stretch without a failure in more than 15 years. SVB's unexpected demise kicked off a historic year for bank failures .

How many banks have collapsed so far in 2023? ›

There are 5 bank failures in 2023. See detailed descriptions below. For more bank failure information on a specific year, select a date from the drop down menu to the right or select a month within the graph.

Which banks are collapsing in 2024? ›

April 29 (Reuters) - U.S. regulators on Friday seized Philadelphia-based Republic First Bancorp (FRBK.PK) , opens new tab and agreed to sell it to Fulton Bank, a unit of Fulton Financial Corp (FULT.O) , opens new tab.

What is the bank scandal 2023? ›

Over a period of just two days in March 2023, the bank went from solvent to broke as depositors rushed to SVB to withdraw their funds, resulting in federal regulators closing the bank for good on March 10, 2023. SVB's collapse marked the second largest bank failure in U.S. history after Washington Mutual's in 2008.

How many US banks are in trouble right now? ›

A report posted on the Social Science Research Network found that 186 banks in the United States are at risk of failure or collapse due to rising interest rates and a high proportion of uninsured deposits.

How many banks failed in 2024? ›

There is 1 bank failure in 2024.

What banks collapsed during the financial crisis? ›

2008 Summary by Month
Bank NamePress ReleaseClosing Date
December Back to Top
Washington Mutual Bank, Henderson, NV and Washington Mutual Bank, FSB, Park City, UTPR-085-2008September 25, 2008
Ameribank, Inc., Northfork, WVPR-082-2008September 19, 2008
Silver State Bank, Henderson, NVPR-077-2008September 5, 2008
30 more rows

Why did Republic bank fail? ›

The failure comes amid continuing concern about the health of regional banks. In a presentation for investors in July, Republic First said that deposits were declining and that the bank's mortgage lending business had become less valuable as interest rates increased.

Why was Republic bank closed? ›

Rising interest rates and falling commercial real estate values, especially for office buildings grappling with surging vacancy rates following the pandemic, have heightened the financial risks for many regional and community banks.

Why are so many US banks failing? ›

The increase in mobile banking use, inflation and interest rates, and real-estate struggles all contributed to why 2023 experienced so many banks shutting their doors. These issues caused Silicon Valley Bank to collapse in March 2023, with First Republic Bank and Signature Bank following only a few months later.

Which banks are going under? ›

About the FDIC:
Bank NameBankCityCityClosing DateClosing
Republic First Bank dba Republic BankPhiladelphiaApril 26, 2024
Citizens BankSac CityNovember 3, 2023
Heartland Tri-State BankElkhartJuly 28, 2023
First Republic BankSan FranciscoMay 1, 2023
54 more rows

Are banks in danger of failing? ›

Powell: 'There will be bank failures' caused by commercial real estate losses. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Thursday he expects to see some banks fail due to their exposure to the commercial real estate sector, which has declined significantly in value following the shift to remote work.

Are banks crashing in 2023? ›

Over the course of five days in March 2023, three small-to-mid size U.S. banks failed, triggering a sharp decline in global bank stock prices and swift response by regulators to prevent potential global contagion.

What is causing the bank collapse 2023? ›

Banking Turmoil 2023

The collapse of banks, such as Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic Bank, resulted from deficiencies in risk management and a lack of proactive supervision; they are unrelated to the bad loan practices of the subprime mortgage crisis of 2008.

What banks are imploding in 2023? ›

San Francisco-based First Republic Bank goes down as the second-largest failure in U.S. history. Santa Clara, California-based Silicon Valley Bank follows at number three on the all-time list and New York City-based Signature Bank is the fourth-largest bank to fail.

Did any banks fail in 2023? ›

In early March 2023, three banks failed in just a few days. These banks—Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic—were among the biggest banks to fail in U.S. history.

What banks are on the verge of collapse 2023? ›

The unexpected collapses of three banks - Silicon Valley and Signature in March 2023 and First Republic in May - put a spotlight on how lenders managed risks to assets and liquidity as the Federal Reserve raised interest rates aggressively to bring surging inflation under control.

What major bank collapse in 2023? ›

The failures of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank in March 2023 were the third and fourth largest bank failures in the United States since 2001 in terms of total assets lost. The only larger bank failures were those of Washington Mutual Bank in 2008 and First Republic Bank in May 2023.

Why are the banks collapsing 2023? ›

Banking Turmoil 2023

The collapse of banks, such as Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic Bank, resulted from deficiencies in risk management and a lack of proactive supervision; they are unrelated to the bad loan practices of the subprime mortgage crisis of 2008.

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