Why didn’t Silicon Valley Bank knock on the Fed’s discount window?

In times of financial turbulence, banks head to the Federal Reserve’s (virtual) discount window for short-term emergency loans. The week after SVB failed, U.S. banks borrowed over $150 billion from the central bank. One listener called in to ask: Why didn’t SVB do the same? We’ll get into SVB’s fruitless attempt to secure rescue funds and answer more of your questions about faux job openings and what really counts as consumer spending. Plus, what should you look for in a personal financial adviser?

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• • “What Is the Fed Discount Window and Why Are Banks Using It So Much?” from The Washington Post

• • “How the Last-Ditch Effort to Save Silicon Valley Bank Failed” from The Wall Street Journal

• • “Job Listings Abound, but Many Are Fake” from The Wall Street Journal

• • “Survey: Job Seekers Beware of Ghost Jobs” from Clarify Capital

• • “The Fed monitors job openings for inflation decisions. But many listings aren’t real.” from CBS News

• • “Why job openings data might not mean what we think it means” from Marketplace

• • “Consumer Spending” from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

• • “Introduction to U.S. Economy: Consumer Spending” from the Congressional Research Service

• • “Fiduciary Definition: Examples and Why They Are Important” from Investopedia

• • “Regulators Revive 401(k) Fiduciary Effort in New Legal Landscape” from Bloomberg Law

• • Laura Adams’ “Money Girl” podcast”

Got a question about the economy, business or technology? Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email us at makemesmart@marketplace.org.