SVB’s Giant Treasury Book, Tech Focus Made It Uniquely Shaky (1)

Bank investors are grappling with the question of whether SVB Financial Group’s troubles are an isolated case or a harbinger of industry-wide shock. The answer, for now, is that it is facing an extreme version of an issue hitting all banks — plus some problems that are unique.

All US lenders parked a chunk of their money in Treasuries and other bonds that dropped in value last year amid the Federal Reserve’s rapid rate hikes to contain inflation. But SVB took it to a different level: its investment portfolio swelled to 57% of its total assets. No other competitor ...