If there is a big news story in banking so far this year, it’s the failure of the 16th largest bank in the United States. Silicon Valley Bank out of Santa Clara, California, failed on March 10, 2023. The SVB collapse, which took place over the course of roughly 48 hours, reverberated through the banking world. It has caused a number of ripple effects over the last week. Despite the good news for depositors from the government, the days and weeks ahead of us are sure to produce a litany of analyses focused on the financial fundamentals of the institution, the impact on the startup community, and the human cost of lost jobs. We believe there is some value in spending a few moments talking about this near tragedy from a communications perspective. In this edition of Compound Interest, we examine the communication collapse that contributed to the Silicon Valley Bank crisis. More importantly, we share 10 crisis PR tips for banks to follow. Don’t let what happened to SVB doesn’t happen to you.