The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in California on Friday and Signature Bank in New York on Sunday sent ripples of concern throughout the country, as nervous investors and consumers wonder about their own banks.

The collapse of SVB was the largest failure of a financial institution since Washington Mutual collapsed at the height of the financial crisis more than a decade ago, and the collapse of Signature was the third-largest bank failure in U.S. history.

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Here's what experts say consumers should know in wake of the failures:

Are my bank deposits safe?

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. insures bank deposits up to $250,000, so customers with less than that amount are protected.

In addition, the federal government on Sunday announced that it will guarantee not just those deposits, but all deposits in the troubled banks. Under the plan, depositors at SVB and Signature, including those whose holdings exceed $250,000, were to be able to access their money on Monday. In a separate announcement, the Federal Reserve late Sunday announced an expansive emergency lending program intended to prevent a wave of bank runs.

"The vast majority of consumers have less than 250,000 in the bank. All their deposits are covered," said Michael Adelman, president and CEO of the Ohio Bankers League, the trade association for the state's banks. "For a business, they may have more than that, but banks have legal tools to extend those coverages."

Adelman noted that customers with larger deposits can split those deposits into different accounts, none more than $250,000.

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What does the state do to prevent bank collapses?

Bank collapses in Ohio are rare but not unheard of. Perhaps the best known is the 1985 collapse of the Home State Savings Bank in Cincinnati, which triggered the closure of savings and loans throughout the state and even nation. The last Ohio-chartered bank to close was Columbia Savings Bank in 2014. In addition, the Ohio-based Resolute Bank, which was a federally regulated savings bank, closed in October, 2019 and its assets later acquired by a state chartered bank.

The state's Division of Financial Institutions works to prevent such events.

"We examine each financial institution at least every 18 months or sooner and this information is shared with federal regulators and the bank," said Brandon Klein, a spokesman for the institution's parent, the Department of Commerce. "We work closely with federal regulators and our banks to ensure Ohio banks are strong."

What about those who banked with SVB or Signature?

Customers are protected by federal insurance and Sunday's announcement, but some remained worried.

At least one Columbus-based company, Strongsuit, reported that it is directly impacted by SVB's collapse. The company's CEO, Lindsey Michaelides, tweeted over the weekend that her effort to move some of her firm's deposits out of SVB on Thursday were blocked.

"Friday morning I learned the wires had not processed," Michaelides tweeted. "Then, SVB collapsed and was taken over by the FDIC. I spent the day ensuring my team would be paid and talking with other founders in the same boat. The only certainty: all our $ was locked up; very little is insured. I don’t know how this ends. I know that the financial future of Strongsuit, my team and my family are at risk w/ the collapse of SVB."

Michaelides could not be reached for additional comment, including whether she was able to access her funds Monday.

Is SVB a typical bank?

Silicon Valley Bank's customers were largely startups and other tech-centric companies that started becoming more needy for cash over the past year. Venture capital funding was drying up, companies were not able to get additional rounds of funding for unprofitable businesses, and therefore had to tap their existing funds — often deposited with SVB, which sat in the center of the tech startup universe.

The withdrawals started requiring the bank to start selling its own assets to meet customer withdrawal requests. Because Silicon Valley customers were largely businesses and the wealthy, they likely were more fearful of a bank failure since their deposits were over $250,000.

Signature Bank likewise had an unconventional deposit base, which leaned heavily on crypto investments and real-estate assets.

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Ohio banks don't share those characteristics, Adelman said.

"Ohio consumers should not be concerned about their banks," he said. "Silicon Valley Bank and Signature, those are pretty unique business models, very different from traditional banks in Ohio. SVB was heavy on tech and startups, and Signature catered to the crypto industry. Ohio banks are well-capitalized, have strong leadership and are very liquid. That's born out in the latest FDIC report."

Could this be the start of a 2008-style financial crisis?

At the moment, experts don't expect there to be any issues spreading to the broader banking sector.

Silicon Valley Bank was large but had a unique existence by servicing nearly exclusively the technology world and companies backed by venture capital. Signature also had an unusual deposit profile. Other banks are far more diversified across multiple industries, customer bases and geographies. The most recent round of “stress tests” by the Federal Reserve of the largest banks and financial institutions showed that all of them would survive a deep recession and a significant rise in unemployment.

How can consumers protect themselves?

Experts advise customers to speak with their bank if they have any concerns, especially if their account balance exceeds the FDIC insurance limit of $250,000.

"For customers that have deposit funds in excess of the limit they should ask the bank if there are ways to gain additional coverage for the excess or consider depositing funds in another bank," said Klein, with the state Department of Commerce.

Those with questions or concerns about their banks, can reach out to the department via its website.

Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.

jweiker@dispatch.com

@JimWeiker

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: What Ohio bank customers should know after SVB and Signature collapse