_x000D_Screenshot: NBC News

Silicon Valley Bank went bust in 2023, becoming the second-largest bank failure in US history. Which bank was the largest?

Washington Mutual, or WaMu, was a savings and loan association that collapsed in 2008 at the height of the global financial crisis. It had $307 billion in assets and was sold to JPMorgan Chase for a bargain price of $1.9 billion. The bank’s failure was the largest in US history, surpassing the previous record by Continental Illinois in 1984._x000D_the second-largest failure in US history, with $209 billion in assets. Its collapse was triggered by a bank run and a downgrade in its credit rating. The bank’s customers, mostly tech companies and wealthy individuals, withdrew $42 billion in one day on March 10, 2023, leaving the bank with a negative cash balance. Starting March 13, 2023, SVB’s depositors were able to access their funds as The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Federal Reserve stepped in. Assuming SVB’s liabilities, HSBC agreed to take over and buy the UK arm of the bank for one pound. Signature Bank, a New York-based regional bank, shuttered suddenly on March 12, marking the third-biggest bank failure in US history.