A while back, a small regional coop bank defaulted here in India and could not pay its depositors. The depositors had to protest and camp outside the bank for several days. Most of these were ordinary folks, many retirees, who were just trying to keep their savings in a neighborhood bank.

Of course, since this was a political issue and the depositors were innocent, the government stepped in and promised to make them whole.

While this move was welcomed, even in a country with deeply entrenched socialist values like India, there were quite a few voices asking: "why did you keep your money in a tiny bank like that and not a major national bank?"

I understand that SVB was doing a lot for Silicon Valley, but when it was one of the few (perhaps only) that allowed anyone to open a bank account without visiting the country (it was also a part of Stripe Atlas), one should have asked if they were practicing proper risk management. If no other bank does this, but you do, it does indicate that there's a certain approach to risk in your entire business operations. And that approach can eventually manifest in making some very poor bets without adequate hedging.