Breaking the Bank: The Unprecedented Bank Outages Sweeping America

Small banks, the underdogs of the financial ecosystem, have been hit particularly hard. Rising interest rates, which should spell prosperity for these institutions, have instead become harbingers of doom. Take the sad tale of Iowa-based Citizens Bank. Once a pillar of its community, now the fifth to fall this year, it has been declared insolvent.

Regulators from the Iowa Division of Banking have unearthed significant loan losses, ones that had slithered undetected beneath the bank’s watch. Triggered by a spate of bankruptcies in the trucking sector, amidst a nationwide freight recession, the bank’s collapse is but a symptom of a much larger malaise.

The rising interest rates, which should be a boon in traditional economic models, have become a double-edged sword, particularly for banks deeply entangled in consumer debt, mortgages, and commercial real estate loans. Thousands of office blocks, once symbols of corporate might, now stand as hollow shells, monuments to a bygone era of bustling office life.

ALSO: Big Pharma Doesn’t Want You to Know About Alternative: How to Make Natural Morphine At Home Using This Powerful Medicinal Plant As remote work cements its place in the new world order, the fate of these buildings is sealed—their values poised to plummet, spelling disaster for the regional banks that are the bedrock of American finance. They now face the specter of crippling losses, a slow poison spreading through their ledgers.

The tightening of credit conditions spells a grim forecast for businesses across the spectrum. Bankruptcies loom on the horizon like storm clouds, ready to unleash a torrent of financial ruin. It’s a vicious cycle: borrowers default, banks falter, and the pillars of our financial system begin to crumble…

Per the link:

“To protect depositors, on Monday, March 13, 2023, the FDIC transferred all the deposits of Silicon Valley Bank to Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, N.A. a full-service ‘bridge bank’ that was operated by the FDIC as it marketed the institution to potential bidders.

On March 26, 2023, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement for all deposits and loans of Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, N.A., with First–Citizens Bank & Trust Company, Raleigh, NC. As part of this transaction Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, N.A, was placed into receivership.”

Follow the $$$$$

NEWS RELEASE • JAN 4, 2022
First Citizens Completes Merger With CIT Group

RALEIGH, N.C.—First Citizens BancShares Inc. (NASDAQ: FCNCA) (”First Citizens”), parent company of First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company (”First Citizens Bank”), today announced completion of its previously announced merger with CIT Group Inc. (”CIT”).

Founded in 1908, CIT (NYSE:CIT) is a financial holding company with more than $35 billion in financing and leasing assets. It provides financing, leasing and advisory services to its clients and their customers across more than 30 industries. CIT maintains leadership positions in middle market lending, factoring, retail finance, aerospace, equipment and rail leasing, and vendor finance. CIT operates CIT Bank (Member FDIC), its primary bank subsidiary, which, through its Internet bank BankOnCIT.com, offers a suite of savings options designed to help customers achieve a range of financial goals. cit.com

On August 3, 2015, CIT Group acquired OneWest Bank, established in 2009 by a consortium of private equity investors led by Steven Mnuchin, for $3.4 billion in cash and stock. CIT Group Inc. will continue to be led by John A. Thain, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Steven T. Mnuchin, former Chairman of IMB Holdco LLC, joined CIT Group Inc. as Vice Chairman and a member of its Board of Directors.

Mnuchin, investment banker and film producer who served as the 77th United States secretary of the treasury as part of the Cabinet of Donald Trump from 2017 to 2021. At Yale, Mnuchin was publisher of the Yale Daily News, and was also initiated into Skull and Bones in 1985.

Per Newsweek:

Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs partner who has donated heavily to Democrats in the past and once worked for liberal financier George Soros, will play a significant role in much of Trump’s agenda regarding tax policy, trade deals and infrastructure ambitions, among other policies.

After departing Goldman, Mnuchin went to work for SFM Capital Management, a firm backed by billionaire George Soros, known for bankrolling liberal causes and candidates. Mnuchin later worked directly for Soros Fund Management. During the 2016 campaign season, Soros donated heavily to Priorities USA Action, a pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC.

It is not clear from news reports how close Mnuchin and Soros were, if at all.

In 2004, Mnuchin departed to start his own hedge fund, Dune Capital Management. Bloomberg News reported that Dune “got hundreds of millions of dollars from Soros.” Dune invested in at least two Trump projects, one in Waikiki, Hawaii, and another in Chicago, according to Bloomberg News.

Mnuchin contributed thousands of dollars to the presidential campaigns of both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in the 2008 election cycle, to John Kerry’s presidential campaign in 2004, and to Al Gore’s 2000 presidential campaign, as well as to numerous congressional Democrats, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks political donations.

He also gave to several Republican candidates, including Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in 2012. But prior to 2012, donations to Democrats far outweighed those to Republicans.

https://www.newsweek.com/five-things-know-about-treasury-pick-steven-mnuchin-526893

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