Yoon: "SVB Crisis Uncertainty Spreading... Conduct Thorough Inspections"

Presiding Over the Chief Secretary Meeting... Reviewing Bankruptcy Factors Centered on the Deputy Prime Minister for Economy

President Yoon Suk-yeol has instructed a thorough examination of the impact on the domestic financial market and real economy in relation to the bankruptcy of the U.S. Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).

On the morning of the 13th, during a meeting of senior secretaries presided over by President Yoon, he said, "Uncertainty in the financial market is spreading due to the bankruptcy of the U.S. SVB," according to a written briefing by Lee Do-woon, spokesperson for the Presidential Office. In particular, President Yoon said, "Under the leadership of the Deputy Prime Minister for Economy, closely examine the causes of the SVB bankruptcy, the progress of the situation, the response of U.S. authorities, and the impact on the domestic financial market and real economy."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 10th, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation closed SVB, which had served as a funding source for startups in the western U.S., citing insufficient liquidity and insolvency. Amid the fallout from the collapse of SVB, Signature Bank, headquartered in New York, was also closed. SVB, headquartered in Santa Clara, California, played a role as a funding source by dealing with startups in Silicon Valley, the fountainhead of U.S. information technology (IT). The Associated Press reported that the U.S. financial authorities' action against SVB was the largest since the closure of Washington Mutual Bank during the 2008 financial crisis triggered by the subprime mortgage crisis.