My time as a bank owner was a lesson in precarious systems

MUCH has been written about the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. The 16th largest bank in the United States was here one minute, gone the next.

- Stefan Allesch-Taylor

Before I continue, I should say that I know something about deposit-taking banks. I had the misfortune of owning one 10 years ago. When you own a bank, sit on the supervisory board, and deal with regulators and banking professionals, you realise how precarious the whole system really is.

And what has staggered me since my brief trip “through the looking glass” is how the people in finance, both regulators and banking executives, excel in the worst thing in the world during a crisis — delusion.

There has been fervent speculation about why a bank with assets of more than $200 billion failed. I have read many column inches on the issues involved, from the $74 billion of loans that borrowers invested in risky assets, to the flawed business model. Oh, how people in finance like to impress upon us mortals how complicated it all is. It isn’t.