The WA Post 02/Apr/2023 The episode shows that executives knew early on that higher interest rates could jeopardize the bank’s future earnings. Instead of shifting course to mitigate that risk, they doubled down on a strategy to deliver near-term profits, displaying an appetite for risk that set the stage for SVB’s stunning meltdown.

A week before the bank failed, in its annual report to shareholders, SVB praised its top executives for an area of achievement: managing risk.