SVB's fail was because of radical speed in deposit inflow, which was invested in fixed rate bonds just at the moment that the Fed was on a rising rate ratchet. Because of an affluent clientele, they had unusually high % of uninsured deposits. Very unlikely that a small bank would have had the need to layoff so many deposits in such a short time span. Very unlikely that a smaller bank would have had the high % of uninsured deposits. These are the funds that jump ship immediately.

First Republic fail was because of large pool of fixed rate assets....(jumbo low-rate mortgages and Treasury Notes) in a rising rate context. They also had an affluent clientele and thus a high % of uninsured deposits. The fixed rate assets lost so much value while rates rose, that they had no tangible equity. Thus, the hot money deposits raced out of the bank.

Smaller banks typically don't have such a concentration of affluent customers, which means that more of their clientele would be under the threshold for FDIC insurance. Smaller banks probably have a good book of commercial loans which are commonly priced at a variable rate.

I am baffled that SVB and FRB did not hedge their fixed rate portfolios with interest rate swaps....Maybe their mind was on staying abreast of the white-hot tech sector instead of wringing their hands about the next Fed rate decision.