Amidst the closer of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) by the banking regulators in California, Twitter chief Elon Musk on Saturday said that he is open to the idea of buying the bank and turning it into a digital bank. Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) is a major US lender for venture capital-backed companies, specifically for tech start-ups. The closing of SVB is seen as the largest bank failure since Washington Mutual during the height of the 2008 financial crisis.
Elon Musk's comment came as a reply to a tweet. Min-Liang Tan, co-founder and CEO of Razer tweeted: "I think Twitter should buy SVB and become a digital bank".
To which Musk replied: "I'm open to the idea".
The tweet by Min-Liang Tan also brought many funny replies from other users. One of the users wrote, "elon musk would be like “y’all are worried about contagion from SVB? i AM the contagion!”
According to a report by Associated Press (AP), SVB failed after depositors mostly technology workers and venture capital-backed companies began withdrawing their money creating a run on the bank.
Also Read: Major US Tech Lender Silicon Valley Bank Closed, Here Is What Led To This Crisis
With $210 billion in assets, Silicon Valley Bank ranks as the 16th largest bank in the US, according to the AP report. It said that the bank worked as a financial lender for venture capital-backed businesses, which have been severely impacted over the past 18 months as a result of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates and decreasing investor demand for risky digital assets.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which typically protects deposits up to $2,50,000, said it had taken charge of the roughly $175 billion in deposits held at the bank.