Money and Computing

"SVB failed because the bank's management did not effectively manage its interest rate and liquidity risk, and the bank then suffered a devastating and unexpected" run by its uninsured depositors in a period of less than 24 hours. SVB's failure demands a thorough review of what happened, including the Federal Reserve's oversight of the bank. To begin, SVB's failure is a textbook case of mismanagement. The bank had a concentrated business model, serving the technology and venture capital sector. It also grew exceedingly quickly, tripling in asset size between 2019 and 2022. During the early phase of the pandemic, and with the tech sector booming, SVB saw significant deposit growth. The bank invested the proceeds of these deposits in longer-term securities, to boost yield and increase its profits. However, the bank did not effectively manage the interest rate risk of those securities or develop effective interest rate risk measurement tools, models, and metrics. At the same time, the bank failed to manage the risks of its liabilities." more »

"Help stop fraud and scams: As part of the Dirty Dozen awareness effort, the IRS Lead Development Center in the Office of Promoter Investigations promote improper and abusive tax schemes as well as tax return preparers who deliberately prepare improper returns ... Scams requesting donations are especially common over the phone, as well as by email and texts. Taxpayers should never feel pressured to give immediately, and they should look to recognized, established charities to help victims." more »

Julia Sneden Wrote: My mind’s eye can still see the face of the Children’s Librarian, although I have long since forgotten her name. We will be wise to continue to back up our knowledge of history and literature and art and science with hard copy. She kept up with my reading level, suggesting writers and books that she thought I might enjoy, feeding my curiosity and interests. I believe that curiosity is genetically programmed into every child. The first way a child explores the world is through direct, sensory experience. Later on, the mastery of spoken language (oh, those questions!) provides information, but ultimately, it is learning how to read that opens a child’s mind to the endless possibilities of a world of literature and science and history and human thought." more »

The Federal Trade Commission will hold an informal hearing on its proposed rule prohibiting government and business impersonation at 1 p.m. on May 4, 2023. In a Federal Register Notice, the FTC notes that during the recent public comment period regarding the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, an informal hearing was requested by a commenter. Any member of the public wishing to speak at the informal hearing must request to speak by April 14, 2023. Requests can be made in response to the Federal Register Notice.   Tag… more »