How worried should you be about what happened to Silicon Valley Bank (SVB)? Not much, but there are lessons to learn.

To start, there was a run on the bank. SBV’s depositors wanted their money back once the news was out that the bank’s tangible book values had declined. Deposits at a bank are a liability, so the bank purchases bonds to back those deposits, making money off the interest. However, for two full years through the pandemic, the fed funds rate was zero; consequently, U.S. Treasurys were yielding extremely low returns.

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William G. Lako, Jr., CFP®, is a principal at Henssler Financial and a co-host on “Money Talks”—your trusted resource for your money, your future, your life—airing Saturdays at 10 a.m. on AM 920 The Answer. Mr. Lako is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional.

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