In a free market, private sector companies should serve customers. For banks, that means not losing the money that customers have deposited with the bank. And especially not going bankrupt so that you need a bailout from taxpayers. That bailout also hits taxpayers who have not yet even been born, but who have to pay the national debt. But some companies would rather virtue signal.

Silicon Valley Bank had a choice to make between serving depositors and taxpayers, and virtue signaling to the secular left elites.

New York Post reports:

Fears of a broad financial contagion spread on Friday after tech lender Silicon Valley Bank set off alarm bells over liquidity concerns — sparking share losses across the banking sector worth some $52 billion on Thursday.

On Friday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said regulators have shut the bank down to protect insured deposits.

[…]SVB shares — which plunged 60% yesterday after the company’s CEO begged investors to “stay calm” and not “panic” over liquidity concerns — remained halted as of midday Friday after plunging 47% in premarket trading early Friday.

How could this happen? New York Post has some interesting news about who was running the company:

A head of risk management at Silicon Valley Bank spent considerable time spearheading multiple “woke” LGBTQ+ programs, including a “safe space” for coming out stories, as the firm catapulted toward collapse.

Jay Ersapah, the boss of Financial Risk Management at SVB’s UK branch, launched initiatives such as the company’s first month-long Pride campaign and a new blog emphasizing mental health awareness for LGBTQ+ youth.

“The phrase ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’ resonates with me,’” Ersapah was quoted as saying on the company website.

“As a queer person of color and a first-generation immigrant from a working-class background, there were not many role models for me to ‘see’ growing up.”

Her efforts as the company’s European LGBTQIA+ Employee Resource Group co-chair earned her a spot on SVB’s “outstanding LGBT+ Role Model Lists 2022,” a list shared in a company post just four months before the bank was shut down by federal authorities over liquidity fears.

In addition to instituting SVB’s first “safe space catch-up” — which encouraged employees to share their coming out stories — and serving on LGBTQ+ panels around the world, Ersapah also spent time over the last year serving as a director for Diversity Role Models and volunteering as a mentor for Migrant Leaders.

“I feel privileged to co-chair the LGBTQ+ ERG and help spread awareness of lived queer experiences, partner with charitable organizations, and above all, create a sense of community for our LGBTQ+ employees and allies.”

I thought this was funny:

On Saturday, Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus insinuated that “woke” policies like the ones launched by Ersapah could have led to the SVB’s dramatic failure.

It’s not just one person at the top, though. The whole company was basically one enormous gay / feminist activism organization, and being profitable for customers was apparently the least of their concerns.

We are intentionally and strategically working for a world where every client and employee has the opportunity to bring their bold ideas to life. We also know that diverse perspectives and inclusive environments ignite new ideas to power innovation. That is why we’re building a culture of belonging with a global workforce that celebrates greater dimensions of diversity and reflects the markets we strive to serve.

And:

SVB, the financial partner of the innovation economy, today announced that it has been named a member of the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI) for a fifth year running. The Bloomberg GEI is a modified market capitalization-weighted index developed to gauge the performance of public companies dedicated to transparency in gender-data reporting. This reference index measures gender equality across five pillars: female leadership & talent pipeline, equal pay & gender pay parity, inclusive culture, anti-sexual harassment policies, and external brand.

And:

SVB, the financial partner of the innovation economy and parent of Silicon Valley Bank, has joined CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™, a growing coalition pledging to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace. SVB President and CEO Greg Becker joins more than 2,000 CEOs in committing to promote open internal dialogue on DEI strategies and share examples of action with the CEO Action community.

Be careful where you put your money. It’s fun to virtue signal about how woke you are, but eventually, you’re going to need money in order to retire.