Is it true that, as of yesterday, bank account balances are plummeting?

Asked by luigirovatti (3001

) April 18th, 2023

Now, I straight away say that I’m not an expert in economics, so you have to bear with me for a bit. But afaik this is an unprecedented situation. I found an image by following a link from a YouTube video. Part of the title of this post is, as a matter of fact, taken from that video. It’s the best way for a non-expert like me to actually describe the situation. Long story short, I viewed the following image which, according to the YouTuber, is evidence of an unprecedented situation. But, you have to see for yourself.

Here’s the proof:

https://imgur.com/a/Tk3vpUE

This is the photo released yesterday. All I know is it was a followup from the Silicon Valley and Signature Bank bankruptcy. That’s it. I’m asking here what it means.
If you want a more detailed explanation, here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdPJZuMsb2o
Also, in the last 3 weeks, the loans and leases has gone down by 100 billion dollars.

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6 Answers

SOURCE FOR THE LAST STATEMENT: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TOTLL

luigirovatti (3001

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No, you are misreading the graph. The time line is over years, not days. If you look at the second link you sent, it shows deposits are still strong.

zenvelo (39548

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Just to add to @zenvelo‘s answer, it would stand to reason that deposits may shrink when inflation is high. Why have your money losing significant value in a savings account when it could be earning money in an investment? They sky isn’t falling, but it’s certainly one datapoint to keep an eye on. Contracting the money supply is one way to slow down the economy and reduce inflation, so this is likely intentional.

To put on my tin foil hat for a moment, I also believe that the Fed and other analogs in Europe are intentionally trying to create a small-medium global recession because it will suppress the demand for (and therefore the price of) fossil fuels. This will cripple Russia’s ability to generate revenue and ultimately its ability to sustain their war effort financially.

gorillapaws (30865

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