Sorry for the sarcasm, but I just can't resist. Obviously, things aren't good at all in the banking system and I think most of you already know (or "feel") that something is not right. That "something" is the system itself and that is pretty scary; it means this isn't getting better with a few tweaks and happy talk. Understanding the problem is a good start, it will help us prepare for what's coming and gain an advantage over those who still believe the system won't fail; it already has. It's just being propped up like "weekend at Bernie's" by stealth bailouts and money printing.
This is a Global and not only a US problem. This week, UBS (United Bank Switzerland) Bailed "IN" over $17 Billion dollars of Credit Suisse bondholders with the stroke of a pen. The most shocking aspect of the shotgun wedding was that Switzerland committed a crime based on Swiss law which they promptly corrected by, wait for it...changing the law!!
“If this is left to stand, how can you trust any debt security issued in Switzerland, or for that matter wider Europe, if governments can just change laws after the fact,” David Tepper, the billionaire founder of Appaloosa Management, told the Financial Times. “Contracts are made to be honored.”
"Sunday's shocking bail-in, which rendered $17BN of investments worthless, has become one of the most controversial elements of the shotgun marriage between Credit Suisse and its larger rival, UBS, brokered by Swiss authorities. Just hours after the deal was announced, other large market regulators began to distance themselves from the decision, fearful that it would endanger banks’ ability to raise capital in the future."
Switzerland is known for good skiing, great watches and BANKING! If Switzerland is rearranging the deck chairs then the titanic world banking system is almost vertical in the water right now. They keep playing around trying to fix it but they're only making it worse. Like when in 2020 the Fed reduced the reserve requirements to zero. Yes, zero. Zero is the amount of reserves banks are required to hold for each dollar of deposits you have with them:
"As announced on March 15th, 2020, the board reduced reserve requirement ratios to zero percent effective March 26, 2020. This action eliminated reserve requirements for all depository institutions"
This means our banking system is no longer a "fractional reserve system" but rather a "zero reserve system"! Although this is public information and quite easy to find for anyone, whenever I speak to folks that watch TV about this (especially cnbc) their eyes gloss over and they give me the John Fetterman "look".
Meanwhile, money is on the move away from small, regional banks and flooding into the bigger "systemically important" ones, see below:
I believe this is by design. The Fed knows it doesn't have enough fingers to plug this dyke even if they really wanted to. The don't, they simply want to crash the system on THEIR timeline and in a way which keeps them in charge. Enter CBDC's (Central Bank Digital Currency) which is the wet dream of all totalitarian regimes because, not only does it allow them to monitor each and every transaction everyone makes anywhere, it also allows them to make their new Digital Currency a tool for social control.
No more sending money to organizations you support unless they are sanctioned, no more driving wherever, whenever you please because you already purchased your weekly ration of "dirty fuel" - if any of you think I'm being overly dramatic, then I suggest you to watch the below video on loop for however long it takes to understand. The people in charge are saying it with words right out in the open - no ambiguity at all:
His “vision of the future” is quite clear.
“For our analysis on CBDC in particular for general use, we tend to establish the equivalence with cash, and there is a huge difference there. For example in cash, we don’t know for example who is using a hundred dollar bill today; we don’t know who is using a one thousand peso bill today. A key difference with a CBDC is that the central bank will have absolute control on the rules and regulations that determine the use of that expression of central bank liability. And also, we will have the technology to enforce that. Those two issues are extremely important, and that makes a huge difference with respect to what cash is.”
Let me explain what the BIS (Bank of International Settlements) is: Based in Basel Switzerland, the BIS is the Central Bank of all the other Central Banks in the whole world including our own Federal Reserve. Yes, the Fed is a franchise of the BIS and is beholden to the BIS for all policy decisions. Most people think the Fed is a US Government agency - it is not. It is a private bank, owned by private banks who run the BIS. The Federal Reserve is no more a government agency than Federal Express.
Here is what I think their plan is based on the evidence available so far: All banks are in trouble because the Fed rate hikes have put all their Treasury Bond holdings underwater. Now the Fed is playing favorites using fear and encouraging flight from smaller regional banks to the big ones they control. Once they have enough or at least until the next real or contrived "crisis", they will force all deposits into their new Digital Currency. There won't be many places to hide either, if you refuse you'll lose everything.
Cash won't help you because they can simply make it expire by the end of the month. In 2000 I lived in Greece and was using the oldest currency in Europe, The Greek Drachma, which had been around since the 15th century. When the time came to transfer to the new EURO, I was amazed at how easily they pulled it off. The Greek government simply announced that, as of the end of the month the Drachma would no longer be accepted as legal tender. And just like that, the oldest currency in Europe went "poof". Anyone who had a mattress full of the "old" currency had to scramble and turn it in (to a bank) in exchange for the Euro otherwise it would be worthless in days. I imagine this is how it will play out here: There will be another "crisis", the sock puppets will all sing in unison to follow the government lead which will be something like, "we must all pull together to face this crisis" (That WE created) so, turn in your "old" dollars for the new, shiny Digital dollar. Meanwhile other forms of digital currency like Bitcoin will be illegal to own or use.
"Last week, a March 17 report from Reuters cited two sources who suggested that any buyer of Signature would be required to divest crypto activities as part of a potential rescue plan."
“The surgical removal of cryptocurrencies from the U.S. banking system will only isolate the United States further and weaken the dollar’s position as the global reserve currency.”
"A week-and-a-half after the second-largest bank failure in American history ignited uncertainty throughout the global economy, experts warn bank failures and the stabilization measures taken by the Federal Reserve and Wall Street are creating even greater bank consolidation — and might further pave the way for a central bank digital currency (CBDC)."
As I observe this slow motion banking train wreck picking up speed I can only advise a defensive position: I suggest staying with the smaller but more nimble banks and credit Unions - I use Bank of Tampa which I highly recommend. Owning Gold/Silver and Bitcoin is also advised but only with physical possession, not gold certificates or Bitcoin accounts that has counter-party risk. The advantage of owning those assets outside the banking system is they will allow you to make transactions if (when) the banking system seizes up.
The owner of Overstock.com has $10 Million in Gold coin stashed so he can pay his employees if/when the shtf - good idea.