Twitter boss and billionaire Elon Musk, known for his witty remarks on the social media platform, said in a recent post that he was open to the idea of buying the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).
Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a four-year-old US lender and a cornerstone of the tech startup scene, collapsed on Friday after a stunning 48 hours, making it the second biggest bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis. The bank served mostly technology workers and venture capital-backed companies, including some of the industry’s best-known brands, news agency AP said in a report.
California regulators closed down the tech lender and put it under the control of the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. SVB failed after depositors hurried to withdraw money this week amid anxiety over the bank’s health.
Musk’s remark comes after Min-Liang Tan, co-founder and CEO of American global gaming hardware manufacturer Razer, suggested Musk turn the failed bank into a digital bank. “I think Twitter should buy SVB and become a digital bank,” he wrote on Twitter. To this, Twitter’s boss replied, “I’m open to the idea.”
ALSO READ | Silicon Valley Bank shut down by regulator, 2nd biggest US lender failure in history
His comment quickly gained popularity on the internet, drawing a range of responses from users. One user said, “What an opportunity. 2-3 years to get a banking charter otherwise. Just make sure you go through those toxic assets with a fine-tooth comb!” While another user started a poll to see if Elon Musk should buy SVB.Over 5,000 users have already voted, with a majority of affirmative responses.
Musk, who is also the founder of Tesla Inc. and SpaceX, recently bought Twitter in a much contested $44 billion deal to ‘ensure the sanctity of free speech’.
SILICON VALLEY BANK COLLAPSE
The Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapse became America’s biggest banking failure since 2008 with some comparing the situation with that of Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy.
The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, after taking control of the bank, cited insufficient liquidity and insolvency. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was designated as the receiver.
ALSO READ | Elon Musk asked Twitter managers to find best employee in their teams, then fired managers and promoted them
ALSO READ | Elon Musk says sorry after publicly humiliating Twitter employee over his employment status
Keven Bayer
Kraig Prohaska