Geger SVB, Startup Darling Bank in the US Collapses, Is Indonesia Safe?

Dream - After the financial crisis in 2008, the global financial industry was shocked again by the closure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in the United States. The decision to close SVB, which went bankrupt, was made by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) on March 10, 2023.

The bankruptcy of SVB in the midst of a slow global economy has sparked concerns among global financial players. The Financial Services Authority (OJK) ensures that the closure of SVB will not have a direct impact on the Indonesian banking industry, which has a strong and stable condition.

"OJK hopes that the public and the industry will not be influenced by various speculations circulating among the public," urged Dian Ediana Rae, Executive Head of Banking Supervision at OJK, in a written statement on OJK, Monday, March 13, 2023.

According to Dian, the closure of SVB is estimated to have no direct impact on national banks that do not have business relationships, facility lines, or investments in SVB securitization products.

Differences between SVB and Other US Banks

The difference between SVB and banks in the US in general, he continued, is that banks in Indonesia do not provide credit and investment to technology startups or cryptocurrencies.

Dian explained that Indonesia has learned a lot from the financial crisis in 1998 by taking various steps, including strengthening institutions, legal infrastructure, and governance, as well as customer protection, which has created a strong, resilient, and stable banking system.

These efforts are considered to have maintained good and solid banking industry performance and positive growth amidst domestic and global economic pressures that have been ongoing.

The current condition of the Indonesian banking industry shows good liquidity performance, including AL/NCD and AL/DPK above the threshold, which is 129.64 percent and 29.13 percent, far above the respective thresholds of 50 percent and 10 percent.

Banking assets are also well-maintained with a proportional composition of Third Party Funds (DPK) dominated by current accounts and saving accounts (CASA) or low-cost funds that are increasing, making them less sensitive to interest rate movements.

Who is SVB, the Bank that Shook the US Financial Market?

SVB is the second bank to be dissolved by US financial authorities in the past 15 years since 2008. The announcement of SVB's bankruptcy was made just 48 hours after announcing the need for US$2.25 trillion to sustain its business.

Quoting idnfinancials, SVB has been known as a bank that provides a lot of funding for startup companies in the center of the technology industry, Silicon Valley. Since the decision to close, SVB has been under the supervision of FDIC to minimize the domino effect on other sectors.

The Verge reported that SVB was founded in 1983 after a poker game. SVB is one of the successful players in the technology industry and the 16th largest bank in the US before going bankrupt.

SVB has been instrumental in helping startup companies and even claims to be a financial partner in business innovation.

Two days after SVB's closure, FDIC made the same decision regarding Signature Bank in New York.

Signature Bank is a commercial bank in the crypto asset industry established in 2001. During the global crisis in 2008, the bank provided efficient services with a very fast bureaucratic process.

Causes of SVB's Bankruptcy

Quoting a report on CNN, the bankruptcy of SVB was triggered by classic problems and several competitive factors among bankers.

The first cause of SVB's closure was the decision of the US central bank (The Federal Reserve) to raise interest rates a year ago to tame inflation. The Fed's aggressive move increased borrowing costs and caused technology stocks to plummet but benefited SVB.

High interest rates also eroded the valuation of long-term bonds held by SVB and other banks during the low interest rate period, even approaching zero.

SVB's portfolio worth US$21 billion generated an average interest rate of 1.79 percent.

At the same time, venture capital also began to dry up, forcing startups to withdraw funds held by SVB.