Silicon Valley Bank closed in March 2023 and will not reopen

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) failed on March 10, 2023, and the bank no longer exists. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) took control of the bank that day, and all customer accounts were transferred to other banks or the FDIC's receivership process. SVB was not reopened and cannot be reopened — the FDIC liquidated the bank's assets to pay depositors.

If you had money in SVB when it closed, your funds were protected up to the FDIC insurance limit of $250,000 per depositor, per account type. Deposits above that amount entered a claims process through the FDIC. Most depositors received their insured funds within days; uninsured deposits took longer and recovered at varying rates as the FDIC sold off the bank's assets.

The bank's failure was sudden. SVB had invested heavily in long-term bonds that lost value when interest rates rose, and when depositors began withdrawing money in large amounts in early March, the bank did not have enough liquid cash to meet those withdrawals. The FDIC stepped in and closed the bank to prevent further damage.

Key Takeaways

  • Silicon Valley Bank permanently closed on March 10, 2023, and the FDIC took over all customer accounts that same day.
  • Deposits up to $250,000 per account type were insured by the FDIC and were transferred to other banks or paid out by the FDIC within days.
  • Uninsured deposits (amounts over $250,000) entered a claims process and were paid back gradually as the FDIC sold the bank's remaining assets.
  • If you had an account at SVB, you should have received notice from the FDIC about where your money went and how to access it.

Where your SVB deposits went

When the FDIC took control of SVB, it transferred insured deposits to other banks. The receiving bank depended on your account type and location. Most SVB customers' insured deposits were moved to First-Citizens Bank or handled directly by the FDIC. You should have received a letter from the FDIC or the receiving bank telling you where your account was transferred and how to access your money.

If your deposit was insured (under $250,000 for a single account), you could access your money immediately at the receiving bank or through the FDIC's process. You did not need to do anything except wait for the transfer to complete, which typically happened within one to three business days.

If your deposit was uninsured (over $250,000), the FDIC placed it in a claims process. You received a claim form and instructions on how to file. The FDIC paid uninsured claims as it liquidated SVB's assets, which took months. The payout rate varied depending on how much the FDIC recovered from selling the bank's investments and loans.

How much of your money was protected

The FDIC insures up to $250,000 per depositor, per bank, per account type. This means if you had $250,000 or less in a single account at SVB, all of it was insured. If you had more than $250,000 in one account, only the first $250,000 was covered by FDIC insurance.

Account type matters. If you had both a personal checking account and a joint account with your spouse at SVB, each account was insured separately up to $250,000. A retirement account (IRA) was also insured separately. Money market accounts, savings accounts, and checking accounts all count toward the same $250,000 limit if they were in your name alone.

Deposits held in trust for someone else — such as a parent holding money for a child — were insured separately. If you were unsure whether your specific account structure was fully insured, the FDIC's website has a calculator that shows coverage based on account ownership and type.

What to do if you still have not received your money

If you had an insured deposit at SVB and have not received your money weeks after the bank closed, contact the receiving bank directly. Call the number on any letter you received from the FDIC or the new bank, or search online for the receiving bank's customer service line. Have your SVB account number ready.

If you had an uninsured deposit, check the FDIC's website for updates on the SVB receivership. The FDIC publishes regular updates on how much it has recovered and when the next distribution of uninsured deposits will occur. You can also contact the FDIC's Division of Resolutions and Receiverships at 1-877-ASK-FDIC (1-877-275-3342) to ask about the status of your claim.

Keep any letters or documents you received from the FDIC or the receiving bank. If you filed a claim for an uninsured deposit, keep a copy of that claim form and any confirmation number. These documents prove you filed and help you track your claim if you need to follow up.

Why SVB failed and what changed afterward

SVB's failure happened because the bank invested most of its deposits in long-term bonds. When the Federal Reserve raised interest rates in 2022 and 2023, those bonds lost value. At the same time, SVB's customers — mostly technology companies and venture capital firms — began withdrawing large amounts of money as the tech industry slowed. SVB could not sell its bonds without taking huge losses, and it did not have enough cash on hand to meet the withdrawals. The bank ran out of money and closed.

After SVB's failure, the FDIC and Federal Reserve made changes to how banks are supervised. Banks now face stricter rules about how much of their deposits they must keep in liquid, safe investments rather than long-term bonds. The Federal Reserve also created a new lending program to help banks access cash quickly if they face sudden withdrawal demands. These changes were meant to prevent another bank failure like SVB's.

How to protect your money at a bank now

The FDIC insurance limit of $250,000 per account type still applies to all banks. If you have more than $250,000 to deposit, spread it across multiple account types or multiple banks to keep all of it insured. For example, you could put $250,000 in a checking account at Bank A and $250,000 in a savings account at Bank B, and both amounts would be fully insured.

Check your bank's financial health before opening an account or depositing large sums. The FDIC publishes a list of banks it is monitoring, and financial news outlets report on banks with weak balance sheets. You can also look up your bank's most recent financial reports, which are public information.

Keep your deposits under the FDIC insurance limit at any single bank unless you have a specific reason to keep more there. The insurance limit exists to protect you, and staying within it is the simplest way to ensure your money is safe if a bank fails.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did the government bail out SVB?

The government did not give SVB money to reopen. Instead, the FDIC used a program called the Deposit Insurance Fund to pay insured depositors. The FDIC also created a temporary lending program to help other banks access cash, which prevented a wider banking crisis. Uninsured depositors at SVB were eventually paid back as the FDIC sold the bank's assets, but they did not receive 100 cents on the dollar.

Can I get my money back if I had more than $250,000 at SVB?

Yes, but the timeline depends on how much you had over the limit. The FDIC paid uninsured claims in stages as it liquidated SVB's assets. Most uninsured depositors received partial payments within months and final payments within a year or more. The exact amount you recovered depended on how much the FDIC recovered from selling the bank's investments.

Are other banks going to fail like SVB did?

SVB's failure was unusual because it invested so heavily in long-term bonds and had a concentrated customer base in the tech industry. Most banks are more diversified and hold more liquid assets. The regulatory changes after SVB's failure also made it harder for banks to get into the same situation. However, any bank can fail if it makes bad investment decisions or loses depositors' trust suddenly.

What should I do if I'm worried about my current bank?

Check whether your bank is on the FDIC's list of institutions under supervision, which is public. Look at your bank's recent financial reports if you can find them. Keep your deposits under $250,000 per account type so they are fully insured. If you lose confidence in your bank, move your money to another bank — there is no penalty for switching.