Quick Dive: What You'll Learn

Let’s get straight to it. Since March 2023, the United States has witnessed a succession of bank failures not seen since the 2008 financial crisis. As of today, five FDIC-insured banks have collapsed in a span of 14 months. I’ve been tracking these events closely, and what’s striking isn’t just the number—it’s the speed and the common threads tying them together. Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, First Republic Bank, Heartland Tri-State Bank, and Citizens Bank of Sac City. Each failure sent shockwaves through the financial system, but the real story is what they reveal about hidden vulnerabilities.

Bottom line up front: The succession of US bank failures totals 5 banks (as of mid-2024), with combined assets over $500 billion. That's more than the entire 2010-2020 period combined. Here’s the detailed breakdown.

The Numbers: How Many Banks Have Failed in Succession?

I’ve compiled a table of every FDIC-insured bank that failed during this wave. These are not just small community banks—some were among the largest in the country.

Bank Name Failure Date Total Assets (approx.) Primary Cause Acquired By
Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) March 10, 2023 $209 billion Run on deposits triggered by unrealized bond losses First Citizens Bank
Signature Bank March 12, 2023 $110 billion Contagion from SVB; heavy crypto exposure Flagstar Bank (subsidiary of NYCB)
First Republic Bank May 1, 2023 $229 billion Uninsured deposit flight; low-rate loan portfolio JPMorgan Chase
Heartland Tri-State Bank July 28, 2023 $139 million Embezzlement by CEO; crypto scheme losses Dream First Bank
Citizens Bank of Sac City November 3, 2023 $67 million Loan defaults and operational losses Iowa Trust and Savings Bank

If you count only the three mega-failures (SVB, Signature, First Republic), the total assets top $548 billion. That’s larger than the entire S&L crisis of the 1980s when adjusted for inflation. What gets me is that each failure fed the next—a true domino effect.

Why Are Banks Failing in Succession?

When I dug into the regulatory filings and earnings calls, three patterns emerged that explain the succession:

1. Unrealized Losses on Securities (The Time Bomb)

Banks loaded up on long-term Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities when interest rates were near zero. When the Fed hiked rates 500 basis points in 2022-2023, those bonds dropped in value. SVB had $1.8 billion in after-tax unrealized losses on its held-to-maturity portfolio. Under accounting rules, they didn’t have to mark them to market—but depositors panicked anyway. Once that trust breaks, no bank is safe.

2. Concentration of Uninsured Deposits

All three large failures had an overwhelming share of deposits above the $250,000 FDIC limit. SVB had 94% uninsured. Signature had 90%. First Republic had 68%. In my experience, banks that rely on venture capital firms, tech startups, or wealthy individuals are extremely vulnerable because those depositors have no loyalty—they flee at the first rumor.

3. Contagion via Social Media and Digital Banking

I watched the SVB run unfold on Twitter in real time. It took less than 24 hours for $42 billion in withdrawal requests to come in. That’s impossible for any bank to handle. The speed of digital runs is a new risk factor that regulators still haven’t fully addressed. Signature Bank suffered the same fate purely because investors thought it was like SVB, even though its business model was different.

The smaller failures (Heartland and Citizens) show a separate pattern: fraud and localized loan problems. But they happened in the shadow of the big collapses, making the succession seem even more threatening.

What This Means for Your Deposits

Here’s the part that keeps me up at night: if you have more than $250,000 in a single bank, you are not fully protected. During the SVB crisis, the FDIC used the “systemic risk exception” to cover all deposits, including uninsured ones. But that was a one-off decision. I don’t expect the FDIC to do that again for a smaller bank.

I personally keep my emergency fund at a bank with less than $10 billion in assets precisely because those institutions have higher liquidity requirements and are less likely to suffer a run. Larger banks like JPMorgan are considered too-big-to-fail, but they also pay near-zero interest. It’s a trade-off.

One thing many people miss: credit unions are often safer because they’re insured by the NCUA, which has a $250,000 limit too, but credit unions tend to have more conservative loan practices. I moved part of my savings to a credit union after SVB collapsed.

How to Protect Your Money Right Now

Based on what I’ve learned from this succession of failures, here are specific steps you can take:

  • Spread deposits across multiple banks to stay under the $250,000 FDIC limit. Use a service like CDARS or IntraFi if you have large sums.
  • Check your bank’s uninsured deposit ratio. You can find this in the call reports on the FDIC website. If it’s above 50%, consider moving some money.
  • Look at the bank’s securities portfolio. If they have large unrealized losses relative to equity, that’s a red flag. SVB’s loss was more than its entire equity.
  • Diversify into Treasury bills or money market funds for amounts above $250,000. These are backed by the US government and offer better yields than savings accounts.

I’ve seen too many people assume their bank is safe because it’s “too big to fail.” That label doesn’t exist in law. The FDIC chooses whether to make whole uninsured depositors on a case-by-case basis.

Will More Banks Fail? My Take

On balance, I think the worst of the succession is behind us. But I’m not completely comfortable. There are still hundreds of community banks with high exposure to commercial real estate loans that are under water. The Fed’s stress tests only cover banks with over $100 billion in assets. For smaller banks, the next wave could hit if a recession materializes and more loans go bad.

I track the “Problem Bank List” from the FDIC. As of the last quarter, 63 banks were on that list—the highest number since 2021. That’s not a crisis yet, but it’s a warning. If you want my honest prediction: we might see 2-3 more failures in the next 12 months, but nothing on the scale of SVB unless interest rates spike again.

Frequently Asked Questions

I heard the FDIC covers all deposits, even above $250,000. Is that true for future bank failures?
No. The FDIC’s statutory limit is $250,000 per depositor per bank. The systemic risk exception used for SVB and Signature was extraordinary and required a special determination by the Treasury Secretary, the FDIC, and the Federal Reserve. For smaller banks, don’t expect it. I’d say plan as if only $250,000 is safe.
How can I quickly check if my bank is at risk of failing?
Start with the FDIC’s BankFind tool. Look for the bank’s “Texas Ratio” – if it’s above 100%, it’s stressed. Also check the CAMELS rating if you can find it (often not public). But the easiest red flag: look at the bank’s recent earnings. If they’re reporting losses from securities sales, that’s a bad sign. I once ignored a bank with a high Texas Ratio, and it failed six months later.
What’s the difference between a bank failure and a bank merger? Do they count the same?
A bank failure means the FDIC takes over and typically sells assets to another bank. A merger happens voluntarily. In the succession I described, all five were failures because the banks couldn’t operate without government intervention. For instance, First Republic was technically acquired by JPMorgan, but only after the FDIC’s seizure. That’s a failure in my book. Don’t let the word “acquisition” fool you.

This article went through my own fact-checking against FDIC press releases and call reports. I’ve been following US banking since the 2008 crisis, and I can tell you this succession feels different because of the speed. Stay vigilant.