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Fact check

Is it true: SVB collapse: short-seller conspiracy vs duration mismatch (2023)?

Debunked5% confidence

No — this has been debunked.

SVB held ~$91B in long-duration MBS bought at near-zero rates. Rate rises created ~$15-17B unrealised losses disclosed in regulatory filings. Mar 9 2023 $1.8B realised loss announcement triggered VC-driven Twitter panic; $42B withdrawal demand in one day. FDIC, Fed, and congressional post-mortems attribute collapse to interest-rate-risk management failure and supervisory inaction. Short-seller conspiracy: no supporting evidence.

The claim

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapsed on 10 March 2023 in the second-largest US bank failure in history. Conspiracy claims attributed the failure to coordinated short-selling campaigns or deliberate des

Key evidence

Peter Thiel's Founders Fund withdrawal advice preceded the run

SVB held ~$91B in long-duration MBS at near-zero rates

Read the full evidence file

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