Is Your Bank Safe?

  By Timothy D. Naegele[1]

Having purchased seven failing financial institutions from the American government[2], I can say categorically that no one knows for certain whether they are safe or not until they either survive or collapse.  Perhaps the classic example has been Silicon Valley Bank, where reportedly there were few at the top who had any knowledge of banking.[3]

That is stunning, to say the least.  Presumably even the bank’s most sophisticated depositors and customers had no idea how inept its management was.  But the greatest example today may be Wells Fargo Bank, which was once one of America’s and the world’s true icons in banking.[4]

Richard Kovacevich took over, who had no experience in banking; and he created a monster.  Yet, he departed before everything “hit the fan,” and others “took the rap” for his misdeeds.  To escape scot-free is astonishing, which Bernie Madoff and other “Ponzi scheme” creators could not achieve.[5]

We are still in the early stages of this financial reckoning; and the precise depth of the problems will not be known for a long time ahead—perhaps decades.  One thing is certain: no one should take any chances with their monies.  And yes, after the devastating and still-lingering effects of China’s Covid pandemic, many Americans have been hurt already, with much more to come.  Those at the bottom of the economic totem pole have been hurt in ways that are unfathomable.[6]

American companies continue to close, or lay off workers.[7]  Where the economic “merry-go-round” stops is anyone’s guess.  Are we on the cusp of both the “Great Depression II” and World War III, with unimaginable chaos ahead?[8]  I am not a seer; and even the best political, economic and military minds globally can only guess.  But it is best not to gamble in uncertain times like these, when our skills and faith are truly tested.[9]

Lastly, who will pay for this debacle in the United States?  Its taxpayers, of course.  There is no “free ride,” and someone always pays for the misdeeds of others.  Whether it is war, economic chaos or other calamities, the “piper” must be paid; and what we are experiencing today is no exception.  Will Americans and others globally rise up, and say “enough is enough,” as they did in Berlin when freedom had one of its greatest moments in human history?[10]

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© 2023, Timothy D. Naegele

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[1]  Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass).  See, e.g., Timothy D. Naegele Resume-21-8-6  and https://naegeleknol.wordpress.com/accomplishments/   He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University.  He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service).  Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/articles/ and https://naegeleknol.wordpress.com/articles/), and studied photography with Ansel Adams.  He can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com

[2]  See, e.g., https://naegeleknol.wordpress.com/accomplishments/ (“(1) Southern California Savings by The Securities Groups (1982); (2) Fidelity Federal Savings and Loan of Baltimore (1984), (3) American Heritage of Illinois (1984), (4) Fidelity Savings & Loan of Martins Ferry, Ohio (1985), (5) Brighton Federal of Colorado (1985), and (6) Century Savings of Kansas (1985) by Household Bank, F.S.B.; and (7) United Bank of San Francisco by Hibernia Bancshares Corporation (1986)”)

[3]  See https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11859379/Only-ONE-member-failed-SVBs-board-experience-investment-banking.html (“Only ONE member of failed SVB’s board had a career in investment banking – and the rest were Obama, Clinton mega-donors who ‘grieved’ when Trump won including one who went to Shinto shrine ‘to pray'”); see also https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11863441/Silicon-Valley-Bank-donated-73-MILLION-Black-Lives-Matter.html (“Woke Silicon Valley Bank donated over $73 MILLION to Black Lives Matter-related social justice groups before it collapsed – while failed Signature Bank gave $850,000”) and https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11860445/Signature-Bank-boss-hosted-company-seminar-gender-neutral-pronouns-prior-bank-failure.html (“Signature Bank boss hosted a company seminar on gender-neutral pronouns ‘ze’ and ‘hir’ five months before becoming the third largest bank failure in US history”)

[4]  See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2019/09/27/wells-fargo-an-american-banking-nightmare/ (“Wells Fargo: An American Banking Nightmare”)

[5]  See supra n.4.

[6]  See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2020/07/09/homelessness-in-america/ (“Homelessness In America”)

[7]  See https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/14/technology/meta-facebook-layoffs.html (“Meta to Lay Off Another 10,000 Workers”)

[8]  See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2023/03/10/is-the-united-states-on-the-cusp-of-the-great-depression-ii/ (“Is The United States On The Cusp Of The Great Depression II?”)

[9]  See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/05/12/what-and-where-is-god/ (“What And Where Is God?”)

[10]  I was in Berlin when the Iron Curtain fell and the Soviet Union collapsed.  Soviet military personnel were selling their uniforms and plumbing fixtures from their barracks, and going back to “tent cities” in the USSR.  I will never forget the jubilation that day.

See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/29/the-death-of-putin-and-russia-the-final-chapter-of-the-cold-war/ (“The Death Of Putin And Russia: The Final Chapter Of The Cold War”)