There are thousands and thousands of banks to choose from. Why did they pick this particular bank? High rates? Connections to the right people? It's not like it's the only bank in the Valley, much less the country. They chose to be with that bank above all others. That was their freedom, their choice. Now everyone with a bank account anywhere will have to pick up part of the cost for that choice.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35112295 talked about how SVB was one of a very few banks whose staff understood startup problems. And they didn’t fail because of bad loans to customers! Instead they had too many deposits locked into long term bonds, interest rates spiked, and some customers panicked.
