BANK of America mopped up more than US$15 billion in new deposits in a matter of days, emerging as one of the big winners after the collapse of three smaller banks dented confidence in the safety of regional lenders.

The inflows offer a first glimpse into the deluge of deposits that made its way to the country’s largest banks as customers fearful of a spreading crisis sought refuge in the firms seen as too big to fail. The money flowing into the second-largest US bank was described by people with direct knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified as the information isn’t public.

Silicon Valley Bank’s (SVB) seizure Friday (Mar 10), the biggest US bank failure since the financial crisis, was precipitated by fleeing depositors and sent shock waves across the global financial system. It also forced the Biden administration to put in place extraordinary new measures to fortify faith in the banking system. In the last week, crypto-focused bank Silvergate Capital closed shop and authorities shut down New York-based Signature Bank on Sunday.

A spokesperson for Bank of America declined to comment.

Other banks like JPMorgan Chase & Co, Citigroup and Wells Fargo & Co also raked in billions in new deposits, though the figures have not been disclosed yet.

Wall Street banks saw a surge in deposits during the pandemic as customers and businesses stashed away cash from stimulus measures. As the pandemic receded, government assistance programmes ran off and interest rates rose, the cash started heading out the door. At the end of last year, deposits at Bank of America were down US$8 billion compared to the end of the third quarter. BLOOMBERG

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