Unrealized losses at U.S. banks have now reached levels seven times higher than those of the 2008 financial crisis, putting deposits and the entire financial system at risk. With high interest rates and shaky economic conditions, the value of bank assets continues to decline, making the situation more dire. In this video, we dive into the impact of these unrealized losses, the implications for depositors, and why securing wealth outside of the system may be crucial for financial protection.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 – Intro: U.S. Bank Losses at Crisis Levels

00:42 – Bank Assets and Risky Derivatives

01:53 – What Are Unrealized Losses?

02:30 – Impact of Rising Interest Rates

03:44 – Why Liquidity Problems Matter

04:49 – FDIC Concerns and Bail-ins

06:18 – Who Truly Benefits?

07:23 – The Need for Wealth Protection

08:17 – Protecting Wealth Outside the System

09:00 – Options for Financial Security

TRANSCRIPTION:

0:00

US banks’ unrealized losses are soaring to seven times that of 2008 crisis levels, putting all of our deposits and the entire financial system at risk. Hi, everyone, thank you for being here. Big news this week from US banks – we are going to get into what exactly is going on and how it impacts you. A combination of high interest rates and shaky economic conditions are eroding the value of bank assets, assets that are supposed to offset banks’ exposure. Exposure that includes risky derivatives – the same financial tools that helped almost bring down the system in 2008 during the Great Financial Crisis. And before someone out there says, “Oh, it doesn’t matter, this time is different,” you’re right that this time is different – but you’re wrong because it does matter. The only thing that’s different about this time is that it’s worse.

1:19

Any promises made in 2008 that the system would somehow become safer were empty; none of those promises came to fruition. In fact, what we have today is a system where banks have more exposure and more leverage than they did in 2007, but less collateral, fewer assets, and less liquidity to back up all of that risk, leaving us more vulnerable than ever before – as evidenced by these unrealized losses. We’re going to get into what exactly they are and why they’re so serious, but as a quick reminder, first: an unrealized loss is a loss that hasn’t happened yet on paper. For example, let’s say you buy a house and move into it, and a year later, it’s worth 20% less. If you don’t sell the house, it’s not really a loss, but if you were to sell it, then you’d lose 20%. It is a loss. That is what all of these banks are doing – they’re sitting on assets that have declined in value. If they had to sell them, they would face serious losses.

2:30

The majority of these assets – a big chunk – comes from residential mortgage-backed securities. But it doesn’t stop there. It also includes corporate bonds and treasuries. Again, these rising interest rates have reduced the value of all these assets. And before someone says, “Well, it’s not a big deal; we know that more interest rate cuts are coming, the Fed’s going to cut rates,” that might be true. But this article goes on to say that even if rates were to drop significantly, experts say banks could see only up to 25% of their unrealized losses recover. Only 25%! And, as a reminder, these losses are seven times what they were in 2008. This is a serious situation, and it becomes even more serious when these banks need liquidity.

3:10

This is what happened last year with Silicon Valley Bank when it collapsed. They needed liquidity, they were forced to sell their assets at a loss, which made people realize that these balance sheets we’re looking at are completely fabricated – they do not tell the real story. Our banks do not have the assets on paper that they’re claiming to have; they don’t have them in real life. This is so concerning because we know market volatility is here to stay. This article even says, “Market volatility is here to stay, and banks will have to adapt or go under.” Now, what does it mean if a bank were to adapt? Adapting would mean limiting their exposure or their risk, reducing that leverage, and increasing their assets and holdings. But I’m going to tell you why that’s not going to happen – because it does not help their short-term profits.

4:14

It all comes down to who benefits. It’s not about the average depositor, it’s not about the taxpayer who will have to pay if banks go under and get bailed out again. It’s about shareholder profit, it’s about the elites who are going to be making money off all of this exposure, regardless of the risk. And before you say, “Well, the Federal Deposit Insurance Fund, the FDIC, they’ll make me whole,” as a reminder, the FDIC holds less than 2% of all total insured deposits. I’ve talked about this before, but again, it still shocks me how many people don’t realize just how weak our system is. Now sure, the FDIC is saying, “Don’t worry, we’re going to do more stress tests on these banks, we’re going to make sure everything is taken care of, nothing to see here, nothing to worry about.” But as a quick reminder, these are the same people who missed all of the bank failures, who didn’t see the writing on the wall this year when multiple banks had to be bought out by other banks because of their toxic assets.

5:20

So, I don’t know, are they just not looking closely enough? Do they not care? Do they have a different interest? I don’t know. All I know is that I don’t trust them to make sure that these banks are doing what they need to do, especially after that clip leaked a couple of years ago of the FDIC members sitting in a room in private, laughing at the American people for not knowing what bank bail-ins were.

5:49

I mean, it’s important that people understand they can be bailed in, but you don’t want a huge run on the institution… if they put this out… like, “Why are they telling me this? Should I be concerned about my bank? Like, my insurance company doesn’t tell me what they’re doing with my assets; they just assume they’re going to pay my claim.” That has more full faith and confidence in the banking system than maybe people in this room do.

6:18

A bail-in being, of course, the opposite of a bailout. Instead of the government bailing out the bank, it’s the depositors who bail out the bank, making the bank whole again by taking their depositors’ funds, a portion or the whole thing, to make sure that the bank is whole again. That’s what they’re up to in a room when no one’s watching. That’s what they’re sitting there laughing about, saying, “The American people don’t need to know. They would be concerned.” Of course, we would be concerned. More people deserve to know the truth of who’s really pulling the strings, who’s really behind all of this.

7:23

The bottom line is that this never should have been allowed to happen. We should not live in a society or system where banks are allowed to have this much exposure, this much leverage, and this much risk without having anything to back it up. If the people in power really cared about us, there would be higher capital requirements, there would be caps on how much exposure they can take. But that’s the simple truth of it: nothing changed after 2008, and there’s a reason why. They could have enacted new laws, they could have enforced those. I mean, to be fair, they did create regulations, but they haven’t been enforced. There were international guidelines set following 2008, and the United States still hasn’t enacted them because big bank lobby money has been involved. Wall Street has been lobbying against these regulations, making sure that their profits are not hurt, regardless of what happens to the average American.

8:17

That’s the bottom line, and that’s the truth. And that’s why I am so passionate about not being inside of their system. Because I know that as long as I’m in that box, it’s all being controlled by people who do not have my best interests at heart. That’s why I choose to take matters into my own hands by protecting my wealth outside of the system in physical gold and silver – something that they can’t touch, something that they can’t control, something that they can’t bail in. It’s something that I own because I physically hold it; I own it. It is mine. It is true money since the dawn of time. That is why I choose physical gold and silver, and I strongly urge everyone who’s watching out there to do the same.

9:00

And I know someone is going to say, “Oh no, I watched this whole video about the news, and now she’s just talking about gold.” Yeah, I am talking about gold because it pertains to the news. If I read a headline about US banks’ unrealized losses and threats to depositors and the entire financial system, I want people to be educated on their options. That’s what I’m trying to do – make sure that everyone knows there are other options out there. Because they don’t teach us this in school, and I’m sure there’s a reason for that – because they don’t want people to have control of their wealth under their control versus theirs. That’s the bottom line.

9:33

So, all of that being said, if this concerns you, if you’re trying to figure out what to do next or how you can protect yourself, I do absolutely recommend that you talk to a member of our team. You can call us at the number below, you can click the Calendly link in the description – whatever is easiest for you. Talk to a member of our team, because they are experts in this. They have years of experience in understanding the system and how to set yourself up outside of it. And, as always, I so appreciate you being here. I’m Taylor Kenny with ITM Trading, your trusted source for all things gold, silver, and lifelong wealth protection. Until next time.