Tag:

Banking

From Beans to Banking

Starbucks. What comes to mind? Expensive coffee in a nice atmosphere? Mermaids? A warm pumpkin spice latte? Perhaps. However, the words “billion-dollar bank” likely do not cross anyone’s mind. As wild as it seems, the huge coffee company actually has $1.5 billion in assets, an amount larger than eighty-five percent of the banks in the United States. Not only is Starbucks flush with cash, but, unlike actual banks, it can use this money to invest in other ventures, invest in the marketplace, or expand its business. This begs the question, is Starbucks merely a coffee company or will it join the ranks of Bank of America and Citibank?

Could Anna Delvey Have Gotten Away with It? Bank Vetting for a $22 million Loan

Anna Delvey, the alleged scammer who attempted to obtain financial backing of anywhere from $22 million to $40 million in loans, is once again the subject of much debate due to the new Netflix series chronicling her alleged crimes and other actions. The question this article attempts to answer is whether she ever had a chance of realizing her goal of creating an exclusive, members-only, art club much like Soho House. This question hinges on whether she ever had a real chance to secure the funding to make it possible.

One of Wall Street’s Hottest Trends: The SPAC

SPACs have been around for decades and often existed as last resorts for small companies that would have otherwise had trouble raising money on the open market. But they’ve recently become more prevalent because of the extreme market volatility caused, in part, by the global pandemic.

While many companies chose to postpone their IPOs due to the pandemic, others chose the alternate route to an IPO by merging with a SPAC. A SPAC merger allows a company to go public and get a capital influx more quickly than it would have with a conventional IPO.

An Update on the Gamestop Frenzy: Calls for Regulation and a Congressional Hearing

Cora Leeuwenburg Associate Editor Loyola University of Chicago School of Law, JD 2022   The controversy surrounding the unprecedented movement by retail investors and Gamestop has not died down in the last month following the stock’s meteoric rise in price and dramatic fall. The wildly volatile stock has lost hedge funds millions and resulted in …
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The Role of Regulators During the Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank

On March 10th, 2023, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapsed practically overnight, followed only two days later by the collapse of Signature Bank.  Prior to its collapse, SVB uniquely served a single category of customers – start-ups.  As the largest bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis, SVB’s bankruptcy resulted in significant consequences for the tech industry.  While SVB has since been acquired by First Citizens BancShares, the House Financial Services Committee is currently seeking answers from both regulators and SVB executives about how such a failure could have occurred and how to prevent it from happening again.

Growing Banking Crisis: Silicon Valley Bank Failure

Founded in 1983, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) is a midsize California-based lender that shook the foundation of the entire global financial system. Regulators closed SVB on March 10, making it the largest bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis and the second largest in U.S. history. While SVB offered various services from standard checking accounts to loans, it was primarily home to venture capitalists in the tech industry. Therefore, the majority of the corporate deposits were larger than the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) $250,000 insurance limit, leaving over $150 billion in uninsured deposits at the end of 2022. The sudden collapse caused a frenzy leaving companies and investors vulnerable having already experienced mass layoffs in the tech industry.

Democrats in Washington Push For Stronger Banking Regulations

The Biden Administration acted strongly last month in response to the recent collapses of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank. Each collapse sent shockwaves through the U.S. banking system and shook the confidence of consumers nationwide. The Biden Administration showed swift and steady leadership in urgently addressing the crisis. The President and leading Democrats in Congress continue to push for stronger regulatory oversight with respect to the banks. This shows that the Democrats are on the right side of the banking issue, as they have been for the 16 years following the 2008 financial crisis.

The External and Internal Causes of SVB’s Collapse and the Role of Regulators

Megan Aldworth Associate Editor Loyola University Chicago School of Law, JD 2023   Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) started in Silicon Valley in 1983 and found a booming growth in tandem with the tech industry and venture capital. At its collapse, which spanned over 48 hours and started on the eve of March 8, it was …
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Senate Enjoys Rare Bipartisan Moment, Seeks to Punish Silicon Valley Bank Executives

n March 17, 2023, following the second-largest bank collapse in U.S. history, President Biden released a statement urging Congress to allow financial regulators to impose tougher penalties on the executives of failed banks. Encouragingly, on March 29–just twelve days later–the Senate proposed bipartisan legislation, dubbed the Failed Bank Executives Clawback Act (FBECA), which would grant the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) clawback authority to confiscate all or part of the compensation received by bank executives in the five years leading up a bank’s failure.

Proposal to Change TULA Late Fee Maximum on Credit Cards: Is it Beneficial or Burdensome?

Megan Aldworth Associate Editor Loyola University Chicago School of Law, JD 2023   The Truth in Lending Act (TILA), established 1968, is aimed to protect consumers against unfair credit practices and billing by lenders. Under TILA, lenders must provide consumers (borrowers) with information that allows them to compare loan terms given by various lending institutions. …
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