What is the largest investment bank to fail?
- Washington Mutual (WaMu), Henderson, NV ($309 Billion Assets) ...
- First Republic Bank, San Francisco, CA ($229 Billion Assets) ...
- Silicon Valley Bank, Santa Clara, CA ($209 Billion Assets)
The collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in March 2023—then the second- and third-largest bank failures in U.S. history—took consumers by surprise. Subsequently, three more banks failed in 2023: First Republic Bank in May, Heartland Tri-State Bank in July and Citizens Bank of Sac City in November.
A too-big-to-fail bank is a financial institution that would cause significant economic damage if it went out of business. Also known as “systemically important” banks, they each have hundreds of billions or trillions of dollars in assets. They play important roles in virtually every sector of the economy.
Bank | City | Assets at time of failure |
---|---|---|
Nominal | ||
Signature Bank | New York | $118 billion |
Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust | Chicago | $40.0 billion |
First Republic Bank Corporation | Dallas | $32.5 billion |
San Francisco-based First Republic Bank goes down as the second-largest failure in U.S. history. Santa Clara, California-based Silicon Valley Bank follows at number three on the all-time list and New York City-based Signature Bank is the fourth-largest bank to fail.
Two major California banks — Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic — have failed. While some banking industry leaders have said the immediate crisis is over, stock prices for other regional banks, including PacWest and Western Alliance, fell this week.
First Republic Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, and Signature Bank have all shut down in 2023. Here's a brief overview of why these banks failed.
For just over one month, Silicon Valley Bank was the second-largest bank failure in US history. That was until First Republic Bank, a California lender that catered to wealthy clients, knocked it off that spot. First Republic was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Rising interest rates and a sluggish economy brought failures at Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic Bank in what is now called the banking crisis of 2023.
Which is the safest bank?
Bank | Forbes Advisor Rating | Products |
---|---|---|
Chase Bank | 5.0 | Checking, Savings, CDs |
Bank of America | 4.2 | Checking, Savings, CDs |
Wells Fargo Bank | 4.0 | Savings, checking, money market accounts, CDs |
Citi® | 4.0 | Checking, savings, CDs |
March 2023 Bank Failures—Risky Business Strategies Raise Questions About Federal Oversight. When Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank failed in March, they suffered two of the largest bank failures in U.S. history. Today, we released our first report on these bank failures.

Companies Considered Too Big to Fail
The Bank of New York Mellon Corp. Citigroup Inc. The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. JPMorgan Chase & Co.
The company is considered too big to fail due to its size, complexity, and interconnectedness with other parts of the financial system. 2. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company that was founded in 1869.
Perhaps the strongest argument that firms such as BlackRock and Fidelity can make is that unlike many of the large institutions already identified as too big too fail, these firms didn't need a bailout during the financial crisis. In other words, history is on their side.
The collapses in March of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank – two of the largest U.S. banks to fail since the Great Depression of the 1930s – have led some to wonder if the nation may be headed for a new widespread banking crisis.
Three banks in the U.S. (Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and Silvergate) have collapsed since early March. The collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank are the two biggest bank failures since 2008.
While Citi saw only a mild year-over-year bump in profits, Wells Fargo's profits rose by 61%, Bank of America's by 20%, and J.P. Morgan Chase's by 35%. Collectively, the four too-big-to-fail banks earned a remarkable $30.4 billion in the quarter.
The bank has struggled with declining financial performance and profitability, with shares down almost a third since CEO Jane Fraser took over in February 2021.
How many banks failed in 2023?
There are 5 bank failures in 2023. See detailed descriptions below.
The most popular banks in the U.S. are regional banks like Truist Financial, TD Bank and First National of Omaha. The worst banks are Wells Fargo and Citibank. Wells Fargo is the worst bank overall, with a high percentage of unresolved complaints and loss of Better Business Bureau accreditation.
To date, 95 branches have been closed this year, and 15 more are to shutter by the end of the year. The remaining locations are planned to close in 2024, meaning that the trend, common among nearly all of the big banks of shutting local branches will continue.
- First Republic Bank (FRC) . Above average liquidity risk and high capital risk.
- Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) . Above average capital risk.
- KeyCorp (KEY) . Above average capital risk.
- Comerica (CMA) . ...
- Truist Financial (TFC) . ...
- Cullen/Frost Bankers (CFR) . ...
- Zions Bancorporation (ZION) .